#meanwhile the other 40% is majority text

[scarletiswailing347]

man i still dont understand why delilah was so hung up on kab like at Most she was a naive the same way a starstruck kid is naive when it comes to meeting their idols and maybe lacking reading comprehension sometimes but delilah had So Much beef with her that i swear she wasnt even trying to throw allegations at zam anymore but to kab instead

[jjwong16]

Week 7: Social Media Influencers and the Slow Fashion Movement

Social media platforms have developed into effective tools in recent years that people may use to exchange information, influence others, and voice their ideas and opinions. As social media influencers have grown in popularity, these platforms have also had an impact on how consumers behave and think about a range of issues, including the slow fashion movement. Through their knowledge, kindness, and reliability, social media influencers may connect with a wide audience and foster a sense of authenticity and trust. Due to this, they are now powerful champions for ethical and sustainable fashion practices, and the fashion business can benefit greatly from their influence in bringing about change and increasing public awareness. Influencers can encourage consumers to make more sustainable and thoughtful decisions when it comes to their clothing purchases by using their social media platforms to promote their personal stories and advice about embracing slow fashion. Social media influencers can motivate and enlighten their fans about the advantages of adopting slow fashion by providing information on sustainable fashion firms, presenting ensemble ideas utilizing antique or second-hand items, and talking about the significance of ethical manufacturing techniques. It's crucial to remember, meanwhile, that not all influencers are sustainability specialists or lead sustainable lifestyles.

The fashion industry is among the most environmentally harmful in the world, with major effects on the environment resulting from different phases of the cycle of production and consumption. This essay explores how fashion affects the environment, looking at problems with waste, pollution, and resource use as well as possible ways to lessen these negative consequences. For example, 10% of the world's carbon emissions are thought to come from the fashion business, which is more than from international travel and maritime shipping put together. (European Parliament, 2020) The European Environment Agency estimates that each person in the EU who purchased textiles in 2020 emitted almost 270 kg of CO2. This indicates that 121 million tones of greenhouse gas emissions were produced by textile items used in the EU. With synthetic fibers accounting for 1% of crude oil production, the textile industry is a major contribution to the climate issue. Another significant source of plastic pollution entering the environment is this industry. The textile sector is responsible for 35 percent of the microplastic contamination in the ocean, with between 200 000 and 500 000 tones of textile-derived microplastics entering the marine environment annually. (Geneva Environment Network, 2024)

Over 60% of all textiles are used for clothing, and throughout the past 15 years, the global middle class has grown, contributing to a roughly twofold increase in clothing output due to rising per capita sales in developed economies. The consumption of apparel has decreased by over 40% concurrently. Both of these trends are mostly the result of the "fast fashion" phenomena, which features more collections offered annually, new styles that are available more quickly, and frequently lower pricing. (Ellen Macarthur Foundation, n.d.)

The slow fashion movement relies heavily on social media influencers who use their platforms to advocate for environmental stewardship, ethical behaviour, and sustainability. As digital citizens, they help create a community devoted to responsible consumption, educate their audiences, and raise awareness. To guarantee that the movement continues to be inclusive and influential, they must overcome obstacles like accessibility and greenwashing.

References

Ellen Macarthur Foundation n.d., ‘Fashion and the circular economy’, www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org, viewed <https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/fashion-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive#:~:text=boosting%20clothing%20care.->.

European Parliament 2020, ‘The impact of textile production and waste on the environment (infographics) | Topics | European Parliament’, www.europarl.europa.eu, viewed <https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics#:~:text=The%20fashion%20industry%20is%20estimated>.

Geneva Environment Network 2024, ‘Environmental Sustainability in the Fashion Industry’, Geneva environment network, viewed <https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/sustainable-fashion/>.

[notophelia]

I was just thinking the other day about how this shift happened.

Because when I started participating in fandom (which I count as when I started going to cons, since there was no such thing as the internet), I was in middle school and the overwhelming majority of everyone else was an adult. I semi-joke that it was my gifted program (a thing that my rural school very much did not have) because, a couple times a year for a weekend at a time, I went to panels and stood in autograph lines with adults who conversed with me as an equal about mythological themes and constructed languages and redemption narratives.

The first time I went to MediaWest*Con, my freshman year of college, I met a pair of best friends who had come from California and immediately became lifelong friends with them. By Saturday dinnertime, in the midst of some intense Star Wars discussion, one of those present declared the three of us “future BNFs” [Big Name Fan, for those unfamiliar]. “Future,” because everyone else at the table was in their 30s or 40s while we were 18.

The demographics of cons have shifted a little - especially if you’re looking specifically at anime or comic/pop-culture cons as opposed to “literary” SFF cons - but only a little. They’re still overwhelmingly populated by adults, and largely by over-30s.

Because cons cost money.

The internet also costs money, but not in a way that most teens or even college kids are conscious of. From their perspective, the way they participate in fandom is essentially free, or at least a standard feature of life, in a way that in-person fan gatherings - and indeed, all the ways we shared our joy in the days of zines and newsletters and APAs, with their printing costs and postage and long-distance phone bills - weren’t.

When I was a kid, even if you knew about fandom, you could not do it for free.

And when that started to change? When we had BBSes and Usenet and listservs, and then forums and boards and then LJ and…? All the way through that, my default mental image of the humans on the other side of the text was someone in their 30s or 40s, the “typical” fan I had known since the early 80s.

I barely noticed when I became that demographic, and took a bit longer to realize more and more of my fannish circle was younger and younger. Meanwhile, those younger folks were increasingly startled by my age… because as digital natives they defaulted - entirely reasonably - to assuming other people online were their peers.

I’m still not quite sure how this last bit of the shift happened, how we got to the place where not all, not even most, but a not-insignificant chunk of young fanfolk are not merely startled but… disgusted? Threatened? There’s more to it than just this anon’s “embarrassed”… by the existence of fannish elders.

Maybe it’s just that they can’t imagine the adults in their face-to-face lives having fannish interests, or even that those adults have sent the message that they should be embarrassed by them.

Which leaves it to us to show there’s another way.

You're not embarrassed being an old woman and being in tumblr? I would rather die that my grannies have an actual account on tumblr for celebrities rho

Why would I be embarrassed for having interests I enjoy? My guess is that you’re really, really young. And that maybe you don’t actually have solid relationships with adults who have lives outside of parenting or work. But I hope for you that when you’re my age you have hobbies that bring you happiness. And that by that point you realize that trying to shame someone for being an adult only makes you look too immature to be in adult spaces, which Tumblr is.

When I was 20, I loved music, making art, writing and reading good stories, fashion, talking about popular culture, making friends, going to concerts… You’d be surprised how little changes when you’re my age. I just have way more money and time to enjoy those things now. I’m only 55. I’m not dead. I’m also not a “granny”, but even if I was, I’d probably still like all of those things.

Ageism isn’t cute, love. And I sure don’t ever see people telling men they shouldn’t go to football games or have their little “fantasy football leagues” or wear their favorite player’s merch. For every comment you guys like to say is misogynistic (but isn’t), this is one that really reeks of it.

[300iqprower]

Hypothetical Rank Ups No. 74-77: Tamamo (Cat)

[Special thanks to who else but @hastamamocatdoneanythingwrong for letting me consult them on the balancing (mfw no one on your friends list has a Cat to use) as well as helping to heavily streamline the effects being handed out.]

New Passive:

Catnap B++: Increase your HP Recovery amount by 33% while asleep.

Self-Explanatory really, and it'll come back later on.

Monstrous Strength B -> Maddening Consumption (Beast) B

Increase own ATK (2 turns).^ Remove own Offensive Debuffs. Increase own Quick Card effectiveness (1 time, 2 turns) Increase own Buster Card effectiveness by 10% (2 turns). [ATK up scaling increased to 20-40%, Quick up scales from 30-50%.]

Man, it is NOT easy with these units with odd decks, doubly so if Quick is involved. But at least it makes for variety in the stims I hand out. We're sticking to only 2 turns instead of 3, but they're two turns with the Strength of a Beast. Cat taps into her inner Ammy to massively boost her NP type of Quick 1 time, both increasing its refund, star drop, and of course damage, but not being reliable for looping and you'll want to make sure you don't use her quick facecard beforehand. Meanwhile, her monstrous strength becomes near unstoppable (debuff removal to throw a wrench into attempts to mitigate it) at the "cost" of drastically ranking up her Madness Enhancement while active (Buster up).

So to restate, what this all does is clear the way for Cat to deal major burst damage. By briefly giving in to her Beast attribute alter ego she gains a massive Attack Up and a 2 mutually exclusive stims that stack with the universal one manipulatively: a big one time buff intended for her NP and a small multi-use one for most of her facecards.

Malediction, Cat Sunshine B -> A-

Chance to decrease one enemy's Charge. Apply Invincible for yourself (1 time, 5 turns). Decrease ATK for a single enemy (3 turns). Decrease Quick Resist for a single enemy (3 turns). Apply [Sunlight] field status to self (5 turns) Decrease own Debuff Resist by 100% (1 turn). [Demerit] [ATK down scales from 10-20%, Quick Resist down scales from 10-20%.]

You'd really think they'd have given the already existing rank up for this skill something that reflected how it was used in SE.RA.PH but oh well I guess that's what I'm for. So firstly since this is an Amaterasu spell (and also because ITS LITERALLY IN THE NAME) we're making this a field change! if it wasn't clear yet, get used to seeing these fairly often. Next we're gonna give it a bunch of effects based on what we saw in the event against Suzuka, so that's gonna be an attack reduction as well as a quick res debuff. Oh and we're changing the text so that it's not a flat out lie about the charge's chance to reduce. Originally I was gonna boost that to 100% but I have it on good authority that with Cat's kit that's actually more of a stealth nerf given how useful it is for the charge reduction to NOT proc on the skill. Even still, it's a lot of positive effects so both for lore accuracy and balancing, we're having the skill tucker poor Cat out like we saw in the event, tanking her resistance to other status effects for a turn (because defense down on a berserker is just unfair)

Morph (Lunch) A -> Morph (Lunchtime!) A+

Increase own DEF (3 turns).^ Further increase own DEF for each other [Cooking] ally (3 turns). Increase own Max HP (3 turns).^ Recover HP for all allies by 1000 Further recover HP for each other [Cooking] ally. Apply Debuff Immune to self (1 turn). [DEF up scaling slightly increased to a max of 30%, Max HP scaling increased to 1500-3000, Extra DEF up scales from 10-15%/ally, Extra HP Recovered scales from 1000-2000/ally.]

You'd ALSO really think that the series of Nasu "Everything must have a foodporn scene" TypeMoon would have a dedicated Cooking trait but again I guess that's what I'm here for. I still have no fcking idea why they give so many berserkers Morph when it's about as much use as, to pick a random example, giving Mash a buste-crit stim, but I suppose if there's any berserker it makes sense to give a semi-tanky skill it might as well be the chef taking as much comic punishment as wile e coyote.

To do that though we need to ramp it WAY up, both in the base effects and the new ones, using the team-specific qualifier to balance it out. To that end Cat'll work with everyone else available to whip up a feast for the entire party. Not only do other allies increase the food to go around and thus the recovery, but in addition to that being at home in the kitchen also does wonders for keeping her berserker tendencies at bay (IE the defense mitigation further increases for each cook with her). While the numbers reached can reach astronomical amounts given the skill's unchanged 5 turn cooldown, reaching said numbers requires one of the most finicky team compositions around given the scattershot results of who exactly qualifies as a cooking servant. None of the staple DPS or Stall support units qualify with the exception of Castamamo whose arts focus is completely at odds with the rest of Cat's kit. There are a handful of units with good inherent synergy with Catamamo, but more than half of them are gold rarity and/or limited. Overall the result is that, under the right conditions with event bonuses or something similar at play you could have a real dream team, but most of the time you're better off not going for a full team of 3 fielded cooks at once. ...I'm sure there's a witticism buried in there about spoiling the broth.

Cooking Servants: Emiya, Arash, Boudica, Saint Martha, Ruler Martha, Santa Martha, Medea, Medea Lily, Kiyohime, Lancer Kiyohime, Tamamo Cat, Tamamo no Mae, Tamamo Lancer, Geronimo, Tawara Touta, MHXA, Suzuka Gozen, Paul Bunyan, Tomoe, Saber Tomoe, Inshun, Oskabehime, Circe, Chiron, Robin, Qin Liangyu, Beni-Enma, Muramasa, Percival, Barghest, Gareth, Gareth (Saber), Yamanami Keisuke, Daikokuten

Napping in the Dazzling Sunshine and Feasting D+ -> D+++

Apply Sure Hit for yourself (1 turn). Deal heavy damage to all enemies. Inflict Sleep^ to yourself (2 turns). [Demerit] Increase your Buster Card effectiveness when field is [Sunlight] (3 turns). [Activates first] Increase your Quick Card effectiveness when field is [Sunlight] (3 turns). [Activates first] <Overcharge> Restore your HP per turn (3 turns). [Buster and Quick Card up scale with level at 20/30/35/37.5/40%.]

I told you Catnap would be relevant later! Self-Stun is pretty horrid demerit, even if they gave Cat that rank up with a debuff immune charge, so we're buffing that up to only be a self-Sleep now that Sabby made Sleep an official debuff. This is a buff twofold, both removing the stun a turn early if Cat gets attacked (which without setupid is still pretty devastating given she's a berserker) and boosting the HP recovery per turn indirectly since while the rank up isn't changing the inherent Overcharge scaling, the new passive improves the HP it'll recover by 33% so long as Cat remains asleep. Next we're gonna give her a much needed Sunlight buff, again ITS LITERALLY IN THE NAME. Scaling with level, which isn't TOO hard as an unlimited servant who still gets rate-ups to boot, we're tying a Sunlight dependent buff to both her 3 buster cards and her Quick NP which without leveling isn't as strong as her first skill but has a more flexible duration to make up for it, and with a dedicated team can probably fairly easily get stacked with itself at least once (and if you do have a dedicated Cat team, you deserve that). Lastly for some niche appeal we're giving Cat the role of Sure Hit AOE Berserker as well, something desperately needed in the free to play pool as well as a representation of the patented Catamamo tactic of "Just make the fight dust cloud so big everything gets caught in it! :3"

This was a real fun one, even if I got a bit too carried away and had to tone it down quite a bit to make it properly balanced. Which is at least in character for Cat. Again, super huge thanks to @hastamamocatdoneanythingwrong ! Their help went beyond simple tweaks into basically being half the reason I was able to do this one.

[bearingwater]

Aquarius Horoscope 2022: What the Stars Predict for You This Year

2022 is the best year on record for your love and sex life, thanks to big moves from passionate Mars and lover Venus.

Welcome to 2022, gorgeous Aquarius! Before we go further, let's point out what the infamous planet Mercury is up to. Messenger Mercury enters your sign on Sunday, January 2, before going retrograde on Friday, January 14. It briefly enters Capricorn on Tuesday, January 25, and goes direct on Thursday, February 3. Then, Mercury reenters Aquarius before finally leaving your sign for Pisces on Wednesday, March 9. So what does that all mean? Well, double-check your emails and texts during January and February. Whether Mercury is moving in and out of your sign or going retrograde, it's going to be harder to communicate effectively. You can also expect travel delays and technological mishaps. So allow for extra travel time, and as always, make sure that you're sexting the right person.

On Wednesday, January 19, your ruling planet Uranus goes direct. It's been retrograde since Thursday, August 19, 2021. While Uranus is retrograde, life can actually feel calmer. The planet spends 40 percent of the year retrograde, after all, so you can't stress too much over it. But, when Uranus is retrograde, it does ask that you stop dragging your feet. If you know in your heart that it's time to say goodbye to a toxic job or relationship, now is the time to do so. Uranus retrograde can also help us establish healthy patterns from day to day. Take a step back from stressing out about the bigger picture and set up a sustainable routine that works in enough self-care to prevent burnout.

A dark new moon falls in your sign on Tuesday, February 1. New moons are tremendous opportunities, Aquarius. They represent fresh starts and are a powerful time to set intentions. Write a list of what you want out of love and your professional life. The planets are about to fall into your favor.

The warrior planet Mars enters your sign on Sunday, March 6, where it will stay until Thursday, April 14. On this same date, Sunday, March 6, the lover planet Venus enters your sign, where it will station through Tuesday, April 5. Mars rules assertiveness and sexual energy. When Mars is in your sign, you have no problem standing up for yourself at work. You're also going to be trying out fun new things in the bedroom with your partner or treating yourself to sex toys.

Meanwhile, Venus rules love, beauty, and money. With both Venus and Mars in your sign, the spring should sprinkle magic all over your love life. Don't be surprised if your crush asks you out or your long-term partner finally pops the question. These planets can also encourage cash flow, so it's a great time to make moves at work or ask for a raise.

There's a full moon in your sign on Thursday, August 11. Full moons are powerful and primal times that can lead to great sex, but also big drama. Avoid major relationship talks around this time. Instead, go heavy on self-care, whether it's taking a long bath or treating yourself to a new eyeshadow palette.

Your ruling planet, eccentric Uranus, goes retrograde again on Wednesday, August 24, where it will stay through Sunday, January 22, 2023. Remember, Aquarius, you've got this. Even if you sometimes come across as cold or detached, you care deeply about the world around you. You're not afraid to be yourself, and you always try to help your community. Specifically, you may notice how you inspire others to speak out to live authentically and fight inequality. But Uranus retrograde reminds you to take care of yourself, too. 2022 brings joy and harmony in your love life (and hopefully some money moves) so celebrate over the holidays, and see you next year!

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Wait, I'm confused. Would it be so bad to have one of the gods or goddesses be black or a little dark skinned? Aren't there black people in Greece? I'm not saying the whole pantheon needs to be black or is historically black, but still. I do get where you come from tho with how people think they can rewrite the myths to their liking as though it doesn't belong to a culture.

Short answer for this question, "please follow the ancient texts and depictions of the culture as the natives of the culture have done for millennia, because ancient deities from another culture aren't your coloring book".

Long answer:

Dark-skinned in the Mediterranean sense, it's fine, because that's also in the ancient depictions and it reflects the appearance of the local people. But I sense you are seeing this matter as "white supremacy" of some sort and that's why you are focusing on the Black "race". In reality, the iconography excludes even the most light-skinned Russian.

"Aren't there black people in Greece?" Yes there are (even though veery few compared to the country's population. Greece is among the least diverse countries on the planet). But also consider: Aren't Black people in China? Aren't Black people in Mexico? Aren't Black people in Mongolia? Aren't East Asian people in Congo? Aren't White (e.g. Slavic) people in the Arabian Peninsula? Do you think each country should change the depictions of their gods to suit the minorities in the country each century? Countries worldwide never did that. They keep the ancient depictions of their deities and the deities reflect the appearance of the local people.

Greek people also do that and have done so for millennia. The sudden decision for "diversity" after 2.000 years later came not from the Greeks who preserved the culture, but from the US Americans who started the trend so the Greek pantheon can reflect their own society. This shows a type of ownership by the US over the Greek pantheon.

Since these people have grown too familiar with Greek antiquity (a superficial image of it, mostly) they have adopted an imperialist stance towards our deities. If the Americans (people on the other side of the Atlantic) judge our pantheon as "too White" then that's the global standard, all of a sudden.

This doesn't happen with mythologies the US people (I would also put Northwest Europeans) are not interested in. For example, would you go to a Mongolian person and ask "sorry but why can't we make your gods Black? Why can't we make them look Cherokee? Why can't we make them look Korean?"

Well, technically you can (and gods can transform), but I hope you can understand why you as one person and as an outsider changing Mongolian deities wouldn't be the politest thing to do. Such changes aren't for a few people outside a culture to decide. This isn't for a few people inside the culture to decide. The shift must come from the culture itself in a way that reflects the opinions of the majority.

((Aka not your 1-2 young Greek mutuals on Tumblr and TikTok, but even my yaya on the mountain and my theia on the shore should be ok with it. Also, most Greeks as of now feel very uncomfortable with the appearance changes in our gods. If you go on the streets and ask Greeks about the matter, the majority will say "wtf my dude? Why would you even do that?" And yes, that includes dark-skinned people.))

For many people on the Western side of the internet to extend the same courtesy of the Mongolians - in our hypothetical scenario - to Greeks is very difficult. The reason is they don't see the Greek pantheon as our heritage. The Americans think they have broken free of the colonization mindset of the antiquity stealing Europeans but they are wrong. They still see the Greek pantheon as something theirs, with the younger often perceiving it as characters from a very cool fandom. (No, the Greek gods aren't just "cool deities I learned about in school" for Americans and that's it. There's millions of Greeks who still consider them extremely important for our tradition, and part of our national identity).

In some cases, US Americans feel they are the continuation of the "western civilization" so the gods belong to them now and can change them as they see fit (or "appropriate"). Meanwhile, they don't know how the average Greek even looks/-ed like. Or whatever they know is mostly based on 40's racist propaganda - that's why they often tell Greeks they don't "look Greek". (see my tag #greek speaks) I don't need to spell out how absurd the whole thing is.

Take a look at my F.A.Q. in the section "What’s this “don’t change the depiction of the gods” all about?" There the mindset of the most privileged nations for the Greek pantheon is best described and it covers different scenarios and also Greek history. It's long but a serious disentanglement must be done because this is deep-rooted imperialist thought that must be undone.

There are also the tags #race bending or/and #racebending for more.

[underminesocialstratification]

How Social Stratification Works in the Society

Modern societies are stratified with people arranged into layers due to an unequal distribution of society’s rewards.  

The start of this inequality can be traced back to the emergence of Job Specialization of horticultural and pastoral societies. Horticulture refers to the society that cultivates plants while pastoral societies domesticated and bred animals. Division of labor in the society led to Job Specialization and more stratification. A person would be more acceptable in society if his or her job is considered very relevant. When the society had become industrialized, social stratification increased as factory owners or business owners would exploit their workers who are usually from rural areas. As the working conditions became better in the 1900s, a new form of inequality was created. There has been a great difference for the wage between a skilled and unskilled worker. In the Postindustrial Societies, education has been a great factor in determining one’s social position in the society.

As time passes, social stratification has taken many forms:  slavery, estate system, indentured servitude, caste system, and the class system. Slavery is one of the lowest categories in a stratifcation system. A slave is considered to be a property of its owner and is usually mistreated. The Estate system is a three-tiered system composed of the nobility, the clergy, and the commoners. This is no longer practiced and was very prominent during the Middle Ages in Europe. Meanwhile, a caste system depends on the traits or characteristics that people possess as a result of their birth. This type of system does not allow a person to move into other positions. In the class system, a person is placed based on achieved statuses. It includes the Social Mobility, or movement up or down the social hierarchy.

Social stratification in the Philippines is determined by the social class of a person. There are three primary social classes in the Philippines: low-income class, middle-income class, and high-income class. The latest Family Income and Expenditure Survey by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) shows that the majority (58.4%) of Filipinos belong to the low-income class, while the middle class comprises around 40% of the population. Only 1.4% fall in the high-income class (Zoleta, 2020). Moreover, people at the lowest of this social class are the those who experience great discrimination and inequality. 

In summary, social stratification and inequality is present throughout the world. It has been done in the ancient time and is still continuing today. As other people see this layer of inequality as a norm, it also has more underlying negative effects particularly those at the bottom.

References:

SparkNotes Editors. (n.d.). Social Stratification and Inequality. Retrieved from  https://www.sparknotes.com/sociology/social-stratification-and-inequality/section9/

Zoleta, V. (2020). Understanding Social Class in the Philippines: Which Class Do You Belong to?. Retrieved from  https://ph.news.yahoo.com/understanding-social-class-philippines-class-020037877.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADLzAYeXVuwC01LMM92MNIsNPyZqfbV-v5Bo6TSQJ9ss6vaQKZ_Ki24MkKLFMgHlP2mbJC7fBwttyhFEJK1qLoa0zyZn25hmWs5uZGj3tAtpenI9pYeoHf1ZrAcxG6Hg7v5frx8HposTPN7oUyuc239Uch09hAY8PCOBrVUY2eaU#:~:text=Types%20of%20Social%20Class%20in,and%20the%20high%2Dincome%20class.&text=In%20between%20the%20poor%20and,class%20but%20not%20considered%20poor

What Is Social Stratification? Defination. (2019). Retrieved from https://shareeducatonideas.com/social-stratification/

[sunflowerhae]

-> Forgotten Love [M.L]

Requested by • @sweetie-yoongi7 hope you like it bb!✨🐌🍄

•3.7k

warnings• slight verbal abuse, language, a fight 👊💥😤

“Write about an experience where someone you love hurt you. Explain the situation, what was done or said, how you both responded, and what the outcome was. Must be 5 full pages long, and in MLA format. God, how annoying is that? I mean, what do I write about, my mom not letting me get McDonald’s one time because we had food at home?” You scoffed while pushing yourself back into your chair at the cool, air conditioned coffee shop you currently found yourself in. Summer was just officially ending, and October was creeping it’s way into the year, which meant the air wasn’t exactly hot, but it definitely wasn’t cool enough to walk around with a jacket on. You found solace in the beige and dark brown toned drink house, that smelled like coffee beans and lured in customers with its smooth jazz playlist. You were thankful Mark picked this place to have your little date in between classes, for the chill ambiance calmed down your irritated interior.

While you loved your creative writing class, and you absolutely adored your professor, you couldn’t help but be slightly pissed off at the writing prompt she randomly assigned you. You stared at it for what seemed like hours during class, no specific moment like described coming to your conscious. You were still thinking about it as you finally looked up at Mark’s shrunken frame, and the prompt was easily forgotten as worry took over your emotions.

“Babe? Are you okay?” At your concerned tone, Mark lifted his head to meet you eyes, before quickly looking back down at his coffee. He kept glancing between your eyes and his drink, while you patiently waited for him to explain what was bothering him.

Mark scratched the back of his neck, before looking back up at you one final time, and huffing out a soft sigh. “I know what you can write about.” He had barely even mumbled it, so neither of you were surprised when you asked him to repeat himself.

“I..know what you can write about.” The way Mark refused to look you in the eyes, and the tone of his voice, lead you to believe you knew what he was talking about, and you knew he didn’t want to say it.

You and Mark were an amazing couple.

You liked the same music, you both had the same sense of humor, and you were both equally loving towards each other and your friends. You were the two oldest people in your younger friend group, and two of the youngest in your older friend group. You both balanced it out quite well, and set an example for both groups as a healthy relationship while you did it.

But that’s not to say you were perfect.

It was a year ago, to be exact. You were both at the beginning of your sophomore year of college, and the priorities were starting to stack for both of you. Mark -being a music major- had to write a song and collab with the dance majors to make a dance for the song in about two months and turn it in as a beginning of the year exam. Meanwhile, you -being a film major- had to make a small movie using the theater kids as your actors; due in a month. To top on to all the stress, you had both recently moved in together, and had barely started unboxing before the projects got thrust at you.

You hadn’t noticed he was distancing himself from you, at first.

You were so distracted with your project, that every time he would blow off eating dinner together, or would stay at the school until well into the night, you didn’t complain much; just trying to finish your project and get a good grade. It wasn’t until a month later that you started to see that something was wrong. You had finished your project and had gotten amazing grades, and all you wanted to do was go out on a nice date with your boyfriend; something you hadn’t done in about a month. You texted him the time and place to meet you at, to dress nice, and that you’d be waiting with a surprise. You had seen the small “read 3:14pm” under the text, and while you were a bit puzzled as to why he didn’t respond, you didn’t worry about it too much - seeing as lately that was his thing - and just got ready for the night you hoped would be just as amazing as the day was.

You thought you looked pretty beautiful.

Your hair was nicely done, your nails were painted marks favorite color, and the black, tight dress with sleeves hanging off the side accentuated your body and breasts perfectly. You had even sent Haechan a picture to make sure it was “hot,” to which he replied that Mark’s a lucky man, which made you smile. You were looking fine tonight, and while you had had a reason to celebrate, you couldn’t wait to give Mark your all tonight.

{for more effect, I suggest playing It Happened Quiet by AURORA here}

You took your seat in the dimly lit restaurant that was definitely too expensive for a music and film major, and waited for your water that was requested to the waiter to arrive. With a quick glance at the time on your phone, you realized Mark wouldn’t be here for another ten minutes or so. So you just sat there, trying to distract yourself from the excessive amount of bread on your table, and watched the clock count down until 7:30, when Mark should be arriving.

7:40 rolled around and you couldn’t stop yourself from staring at the door like it just did you super dirty. While it was just 10 minutes late, Mark was never one to be late.

Okay, that’s a lie, but he was never late to these type of things. And you perfectly timed it so that he would have time to get home from school, change, and then get to the restaurant. You quickly shot Mark a “you on your way?” text, before setting down your phone, trying not to be the clingy girlfriend, and keep your hope that Mark would be there soon.

Yet, by the time the clock struck 9, and your bread was stale and you had drank enough water to definitely get a bladder infection if you didn’t pee soon, your hope was completely dead. You silently got up from your seat and gave a small smile and nod to the hostess - who shot a sympathetic smile to you - before pushing the door of the restaurant open and walking toward your car.

You tried not to cry on the way home, but when you walked through the front door to see a dark and cold apartment, indicating that Mark had not yet come home, you couldn’t help but let the tears fall at the thought of something happening to him. You had called and texted him multiple times, and when he answered none of them, you even called the hospital to see if they had seen a patient that fit Mark’s description, or had someone named Mark Lee come in. You called all the hospitals in your area, in fact, but nothing came up. Your last hope was someone you actually didn’t want to call. Not because you didn’t want to call her, but because you didn’t want what you’re thinking to be true. But when all of your friends said they hadn’t heard from him, you had almost no choice.

“Hello?” Her chipper voice on the other end made you want to cringe, but you held it together.

“If Mark is in the room, don’t say my name. It’s y/n. Is mark with you?”

Yerim honestly didn’t know what to say. She stuttered a bit on the other end, before clearing her throat and mumbling a, “yes”.

You sighed and gave a half hearted, “okay, don’t tell him I called or anything, okay? Can you just, like, pretend you never even talked to me? Thanks Yeri,” hanging up the phone before she could answer.

You didn’t know how you felt about Mark working on a school project with his ex. When you had met Mark, it was at a college party during freshman year, around a year or so ago, actually. He had just been through a terrible breakup with his high school sweetheart who was - you guessed it - Yeri. If you were being honest with yourself, you knew you were the rebound. You just, fell so hard for him in the short time you had known him that, it didn’t really matter. You guessed somewhere along the way, Mark actually did fall for you, because he stayed, and he said he loved you, and you moved in together. Because of this, and because of the fact that Yeri was never brought up, you didn’t feel too insecure about your relationship.

But now that you’re sitting on the couch in silence, thinking about the fact that your boyfriend ditched your date to hang out with his ex, you can’t help but feel a bit unconfident in where your standing was with Mark. You slowly started realizing that Mark had, in fact, been distancing himself the past month; choosing to instead spend time with his ex-girlfriend instead of the girl that he claimed he loved.

Jealously and insecurities bit away at your insides when you heard the door slowly being unlocked from the outside. Looking at your phone, you realized it was 11:32pm. You had called Yeri at 10:15, so you suppose she honored your request to not tell Mark you called.

Mark was surprised to see you sitting on the couch when he walked in. He had figured that you would have gone to bed already. It was quite late for a Friday for you, seeing as this was the day you usually went to bed early; tired from the week. He felt guilty looking at you, so he choose to train his eyes on anything besides your crumbled figure on the couch. Meanwhile, you stood up, trying to catch his gaze.

“Mark. Where were you tonight?” Your harsh infliction made Mark slightly flinch. He wanted to apologize, because he knows what he missed. And when he finally did look at you, he felt even more guilty, because you looked quite upset about the situation, and you also looked absolutely beautiful tonight. Your black dress fit your body and extenuated your curves perfectly. Your hair was done gorgeously, and he could tell you spent a long time on your makeup. Mark did want to apologize, but when you said,

“Do you even care about this relationship, I mean it seems like all you’ve done lately is ignore me-”

Mark had almost seen red. Every little thing bothering him lately just...boiled over. He wasn’t thinking before he spoke, which never worked for him; this time wasn’t so different.

“God, shut up! Just shut up! All you do is talk! This is why I prefer to spend my time with Yeri, because she’s not so extreme like you always are! You’re not even half the women Yeri is, and you’ll never be! Sometimes I wish I hadn’t picked you to be my rebound for her an-“ Mark stopped himself from talking by clamping his hand over his mouth with wide eyes.

He hadn’t meant that.

He had not meant that.

He was just so upset by everything lately, and he spoke without thinking, like an absolute idiot.

But you didn’t know that. The tears streaming out of your eyes and the wobbling chin showed that for him. He reached out for you and took a step forward, only for you to take a step back, which basically broke Mark in half.

“Y/n I...” Nothing was said between you too, what was there to be said? To you, Mark had finally shown how he had really felt for the past month or so. You gave him one last look, before walking past him, putting on your heels - which were the fastest thing you could slip on - and quickly opening the door.

At the sound of the door, Mark snapped out of his daze, and rushed after you. “Y/n, no! Give me the keys, you can’t drive right now!”

Your tears had, in fact, gotten worse, but you said nothing to Mark as you picked up your pace to the parking lot of your apartments. Mark almost caught up with you, but you sped up even faster, which silently baffled him because you were wearing heals.

You finally got into the car and quickly got in to the drivers seat and locked the door just as mark arrived at the door. He was practically begging you not to go, and pleading to open the door. You just cried more and put your keys into the ignition, before backing out and driving out; Mark feeling like he was watching his whole life drive away from him.

{for more effect, I suggest playing Forgotten Love by AURORA here. You may have to play it multiple times.}

It had been three months since that incident. Three months since you and Mark talked. Three months of you being single. You, unfortunately, had a basic math class with Mark, and while you two used to sit in the corner together, you now both sat on opposite sides of the classroom. Or you in the front - him in the back. Wherever the first one in sat, the other sat on the opposite side.

Mark felt like he went through hell and back in those three months. He felt incredibly bad for what he said to you, and the fact that after that night, he didn’t try to get you back at all. The Monday after, you just sat on opposite ends, quietly agreeing that it was over. You had gotten all your stuff from the apartment, and luckily Haechan had a spare room you could live in.

Speaking of Haechan, your friend group was absolutely baffled when you both told them you had broken up. It had seemed like just a month before, you two were completely in love with each other; on the same page and everything. Then a month later; it’s over. They didn’t know who they should invite where, but you both reassured them (seperately. You both were just secretly on the same page still, without knowing it.) that you would be fine at the same social events.

You, of course, didn’t factor in that you would be watching your ex-boyfriend bring girls up to random rooms in his friends frat during parties. And that at bonfires, you would see him kissing random girls cheeks from across the fire. Or that, when you all had a group study date, he would bring a girl that none of you knew. You didn’t factor in that your ex-boyfriend would actively go out of his way to hurt you.

Truthfully, Mark didn’t do it to hurt you. He did it because if he didn’t hook up with girls at frat parties, he would drink too much and end up trying to kiss you. And if he didn’t flirt with girls at bonfires, he would spend the whole time staring at your from across the fire. And if he didn’t bring a girl to the study dates, he would break his pencils in anger when jaemin would wrap his arm around you in affection. But, at every event, no matter who he was with, Mark always failed.

He couldn’t stop stealing glances at you from across the fire while you laughed at something Nayeon - Johnny’s girlfriend - said to you. He couldn’t stop himself from breaking his pencils under the table when jaemin played with the tips of your hair. And he always ended up leaving the girls before anything happened at frat parties because he couldn’t stop wishing it was you.

It was actually at a frat party that Mark had gotten you back.

You were trying to have a good time. You didn’t come to the frat parties much, because the pain of seeing Mark lead a girl upstairs hurt you so much, you felt like your chest was on fire. But Haechan had all but begged you show up to this one, and you would have never declined anyway; It was Taeil’s birthday, after all.

You were dancing with Dahyun and Chaeyoung when you felt two hands grip your waist. You expected it to be one of the guys, so you turned with a smile on your face, only to come face to face with a man you had never met. The smile on your face dropped, and you took a step back from his grip.

He gave you a sick smile, and moved forward, back into your space.

“Hey, pretty girl. Wanna dance?”

“No.” You exclaimed disgustingly, before trying to move away from the unknown man. However, that proved difficult as his grip on your wrist was quite violent, and strong. You winced, and kept tugging on your hand, to no avail.

“Leave me alone, I don’t want to dance with you.” You kept pushing your arm back, but he just tugged you closer to his chest. You could smell the alcohol on his breath, and felt sick to your stomach at what was about to happen. At the thought, you started wiggling out of his grip at a faster speed.

“Bitch, stop moving-“

“Call her a bitch one more fucking time, asshole.” You opened your eyes to see a small group has formed around you, your mystery creeper, and..Mark?!

“Get lost, man. This ones mine.”

Mark was seeing red again.

“She’s...not ....PROPERTY!” and with that final statement, Mark swung his fist and you ducked just in time for the weirdo to be struck in the face and loosen his grip on you completely. You pushed yourself forward, and ran behind Mark, to the open arms of your friends, who - as you understand - ran to get mark the minute they saw you struggling.

Mark fought this dude almost twice his size for a minute, and he was about to be taken out, before he locked eyes with you, and the power surged through him. One final punch to the unknown asshole, and he was on floor. Everyone cheered, and some people were already picking up his body, chanting “POOL! POOL! POOL!” But the noise faded out as Mark strides up to you, takes your hand, and drags you upstairs. He pushes you both into a bathroom, where you suddenly take charge as you force him down on the seat, and look through the cabinet for a first aid kit.

You and Mark say nothing as you rub his cut with alcohol. At the sudden sting, Mark hisses and places his hands on your hips, gripping them harshly to push himself through the burn. You can’t help but let your eyes flutter shut at the feeling of the love of your life’s hands on you again. You felt like you had lived a thousand years without water, and were suddenly given a water bottle.

You didn’t realize how long you stood there, relishing in the feeling of Marks hands on you. Mark had opened his eyes, to see you with your eyes closed and you hands clasped together in front of your chest - the cotton ball resting in your hands. Mark pulled you closer to him with a whimper, and when you opened your eyes back, you saw that you were significantly closer to Mark, and that he had tears threatening to fall.

With a cough, you looked back at the first aid kit and pushed yourself out of Mark’s strong grip. Another couple of minutes went by in silence, before Mark finally let out a soft, “I’m sorry.”

Your movements halted, and you couldn’t bring yourself to look down at the sad boys eyes.

“I spoke before thinking. I didn’t really mean the things I said, I was just stressed out from school, a-and, fuck I don’t know, y/n. I just..”

Mark was crying now, and he leaned down and placed his hands in his hands. You stepped back in surprise with wide eyes. “I just want you back. I want my girlfriend back. I want to love you again and spend a decade and then some apologizing for what I said. I’m such a fucking idiot I know I don’t deser-“

You shut him up by pushing his shoulders back up, sitting on his lap with your legs on either side of him (terribly hard to do on a toilet, but you’re a master), and kissing him like a woman starved. Mark quickly falls into your lips, and brings his hands up and under your butt, effectively scooping you up a bit.

You don’t know how long you and Mark sat there kissing, but when Yuta walked into the bathroom to pee and had to see two twenty year olds kissing, he never let you live it down.

You smile fondly at the memory, before looking back up at your lover, awkwardly sitting across from you. Before you know it, you’re leaning forward and taking his hand in yours.

“I’m not going to write about that. That was a personal thing between us, and I honestly don’t want to relive that moment longer than I have already. I’m going to write about the time my cousin stole my DS.” You laughed, and Mark visibly relaxed at hearing you weren’t going to write about it. While he had suggested it, that was because he wanted you to feel like you could talk about it if you wanted, but the truth is he hated reliving those three months too. He remembers what terrible state he was in without you, and he doesn’t like to think about it.

You knew he was dwelling on it, so you stood up slightly from the table and leaned down to kiss Mark - who saw what you were doing and met you half way. You both gave each other a few more pecks before you whispered, “I forgive you, always and forever. And I love you.”

[pundergrad]

Guys I. I've had a revelation tonight.

All my group essay team members put their work in the google doc and I had a read through most of it. And I. I don't know the emotion that I'm feeling. It's somewhere between humour and sadness.

The revelation is that I can just. Not care so much about school, apparently.

I'm in my fourth year of uni and I wish I was as carefree as my team members seem to be. Maybe this is a class they don't mind bludging, and they're only doing it to complete course requirements. But this essay is worth 40% of our grade so I thought maybe they'd bring some kinda Big Game to the table, y'know?

The quality of half of their paragraphs was... Not what I expected of third-year uni students. One person, who I will refer to as Shakespeare, had around 30% of their work written as direct quotes, and I couldn't tell where the description of research ended and analytic thought began. Another person, henceforth Bart Simpson, has basically written the same sentence about 25 times, all in slightly different ways, extremely vague, had missed so many citations, and hadn't connected the majority of points made across their paragraphs. The introduction could have easily been written last, because the person responsible for it, hereto-forth known as Skimp, was the last to upload their sections, and there were no references in the intro, so it would have been easy to make a bunch of vague statements about what would be mentioned in the body of the essay. But no. Instead Skimp wrote an intro that contradicts many of the points made in other sections of the essay, a lot of which is not followed up on in the body, and they haven't given even a single source for the definition they were tasked with.

I swear I must have collected 30 sources for my sections, dug deep into the digital libraries for original sources wherever possible, and tried so many variations of how to arrange my statements to create the smoothest flow - which is difficult when my sections would be so far apart in the final draft, but I tried. I tried to cover a broad range of topics as concisely as possible. I at least made an effort to use synonyms.

Shakespeare said at least 4 different things were crucial to understanding the topic. I get that it's easy to reuse words when the goal is to write 1700-ish, but William. Buddy. Thesaurus.com is right there. I'm pretty sure Shakespeare didn't fill their part of the word count, they must've been about 250 words short.

Meanwhile there was Bart Simpson, beginning and ending all their paragraphs with basically the same phrase, and filling out the paragraphs with 'the studies say this... But this isn't always true' and then not providing evidence for this contradiction, all the while leaving out citations and forgetting to finish half of their sentences. They got almost 1200 words out of this technique, with maybe 13 sources in total, one of which was the textbook for the class which is. Not a primary source. And they cited the author of the textbook as a researcher for the ideas that were mentioned, instead of the three very specific theorists these ideas came from during the second week of class. There's no way that'll fly when it comes to judging the extent of our research!

Finally, after the three of us have tried checking over each other's paragraphs, making edits, desperately trying to find clarity and extra words because we're still under even after I exceeded my word count goal, Skimp rolls into the doc. By this point, Shakespeare and I have finalised our sections, and proofread/edited each others work because that's what was agreed. Bart Simpson and Skimp were meant to proofread and edit for each other. If we had time, we'd go over the whole thing and try to make it coherent.

Skimp struts into the group document and starts reading from the beginning. Keep in mind, I had to take on the role of editing and proofreading Bart Simpson's work. So as the realisation dawns on me that, when Bart Simpson reported to the professor that our group was doing Really Well and we were On Track for the Deadline - filling me with dread because I felt like I hadn't written a thing of worth - they were really saying I Don't Care If This Essay Flops, 'at least we wrote words', etc. But then.

Then Skimp starts editing from the beginning of the essay. Making edits to Shakespeare and my sections, which had been finalised. Filling up our email boxes with tens of Suggestions, instead of leaving Comments. Following up on comments that I had already made with further Suggestions that repeated what I'd commented about. My phone is buzzing every five minutes with Suggestions. Anyone who's used Google Docs knows that Suggestions clog up the body of text with incoherent blue text. I am drowning in a sea of blue Suggestions.

By now I've finished editing Bart Simpson's work for Skimp. The comments I left asking for citations are half followed up on, half ignored. I still don't know whether they edited the unfinished sentences, but a promise was made to do so. Bart Simpson has decided to collate everyone's work even though they won't be available tomorrow for final revision, so I left it up to them to fulfil their part of the editing.

Skimp finally finishes giving Suggestions on the whole essay. Despite the chat history for this group, Skimp only now realises that my and Shakespeare's sections had been finalised, and that their Suggestions probably won't be involved in the final draft. Skimp approves their own work for the final draft and sends their sections to Bart Simpson, who - if their responses I'm the group chat are anything to go by - I can only assume is fed up from my relatively excessive editing and comments, and also from the delay in the finalisation process. Bart makes a promise that they'll be at work for all of Submission Day, so the three of us will be responsible for the final product. Sure. Work is a commitment. We were behind schedule. That's a reasonable outcome. But this was coming from someone who copied a dot-pointed list from the source into the essay and forgot to cite it as a direct quote, which would have put us all at risk of plagiarism.

I haven't read the rest of Skimp's sections. Frankly, I dread the potential plagiarism charges that we'll get from directly quoting so much content. We are barely scraping the minimum word count. This essay doesn't make a lick of sense.

Maybe there's reasons for this. I don't know what my team members' lives are like. They could be Going Through It right now.

But they gave me the impression they were 100% on board, in sync, and on task for this essay. I thought I was the one falling off the horse, with how badly my executive dysfunction hit when faced with such a massive assignment. I thought I was a Science Student in a group of Social Studies Geniuses. I haven't felt this responsible for a group project since seventh grade.

I can't believe I put off two other projects for this, and got an extension for another. I'm tired.

[newstfionline]

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Portland protests see clashes between far-right, far-left groups (Reuters) Protests by rival far-right and left-wing groups in Portland descended into violence on Sunday, as the opposing sides engaged in clashes and at least one man was arrested for firing a gun at demonstrators. Nobody was hurt in an exchange of gunfire—and by Sunday evening there was no word on any injuries in numerous other skirmishes that saw opposing sides brawling, dousing each other in what appeared to be bear spray and breaking car windows of rivals. Police Chief Chuck Lovell said during a briefing on Friday that officers would not necessarily intervene to break up fights between the groups. But he added that “just because arrests are not made at the scene when tensions are high, does not mean that people won’t be charged with crimes.”

Henri hurls rain as system settles atop swamped Northeast (AP) The slow-rolling system named Henri is taking its time drenching the Northeast with rain, lingering early Monday atop a region made swampy by the storm’s relentless downpour. Henri, which made landfall as a tropical storm Sunday afternoon in Rhode Island, has moved northwest through Connecticut. It hurled rain westward far before its arrival, flooding areas as far southwest as New Jersey before pelting northeast Pennsylvania, even as it took on tropical depression status. Over 140,000 homes lost power, and deluges of rain closed bridges, swamped roads and left some people stranded in their vehicles.

Classes starting, but international students failing to get U.S. visas (Reuters) Kofi Owusu occasionally waits outside the U.S. embassy in Accra to ask fellow students what they have done to secure a timely visa appointment. Classes for his master’s program at Villanova University in Pennsylvania are scheduled to start Monday, but his in-person interview appointment for a first-time U.S. student visa is still nine months away. It’s the second time the political science student from Ghana won’t make it to the United States in time for school. Visa processing is delayed as U.S. embassies and consulates operate at reduced capacity around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving some students abroad unable to make it for the start of the academic year. The wait and the hassle threaten both the country’s standing as a preferred choice for international students and their economic contribution of around $40 billion annually to many universities and local economies. New international student enrollment in the United States dropped 43% in fall 2020 from the year prior, months after COVID sent the world into lockdown. The number of new students who actually made it onto campus in person declined by 72%, according to an enrollment survey by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

FDA approves Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Bloomberg) The pioneering coronavirus vaccine made by pharmaceutical companies BioNTech and Pfizer was granted full approval by U.S. regulators. The government imprimatur is expected to trigger a flood of mandates by municipalities, agencies and private employers that had been waiting for the Food and Drug Administration sign-off. Following the announcement, the Pentagon said it would make vaccinations mandatory for military personnel worldwide and President Joe Biden called for mandates by companies.

Hospitals and Insurers Didn’t Want You to See Their Prices (NYT) This year, the federal government ordered hospitals to begin publishing a prized secret: a complete list of the prices they negotiate with private insurers. The insurers’ trade association had called the rule unconstitutional and said it would “undermine competitive negotiations.” Four hospital associations jointly sued the government to block it, and appealed when they lost. They lost again, and seven months later, many hospitals are simply ignoring the requirement and posting nothing. But data from the hospitals that have complied hints at why the powerful industries wanted this information to remain hidden. It shows hospitals are charging patients wildly different amounts for the same basic services: procedures as simple as an X-ray or a pregnancy test. And in many cases, insured patients are getting prices that are higher than they would if they pretended to have no coverage at all. This secrecy has allowed hospitals to tell patients that they are getting “steep” discounts, while still charging them many times what a public program like Medicare is willing to pay.

‘A Beautiful Feeling’: Refugee Women In Germany Learn The Joy Of Riding Bikes (NPR) Like most Americans, I learned to ride a bike as a kid. I still remember the glee after learning how to ride a bike on a subdivision road where I grew up in Florida. But girls around the world don’t always get to experience the joy of a first bike ride. In some countries, conservative societies frown upon women and girls who ride bikes—it’s not considered dignified or appropriate—and gives a girl too much independence. Joumana Seif, a Syrian lawyer and activist, recalls riding a bike as an 11-year-old in the capital city of Damascus. “For the people [watching on the street], and even for the children, it was shocking to them that I was riding a bike. They started to say, ‘Oh, shame on you, you are a girl riding a bike,’” Seif says. “It just wasn’t in our culture.” But it’s never too late to learn. In Germany, a nonprofit group called Bikeygees is teaching refugee women from countries such as Iran, Iraq and Syria how to ride. Since the group first started, it has taught 1,100 women how to ride a bike, says founder Annette Krüger. “It is possible to change the life of a woman in two hours. It is really magical,” says Krüger, an avid cyclist. “It’s a beautiful feeling when a person is riding a bike,” one refugee says with a broad grin.

Gunfire at Kabul airport kills 1 amid chaotic evacuations (AP/Foreign Policy) A firefight at one of the gates of Kabul’s international airport killed at least one Afghan soldier early Monday, German officials said, the latest chaos to engulf Western efforts to evacuate those fleeing the Taliban takeover of the country. The shooting at the airport came as the Taliban sent fighters north of the capital to eliminate pockets of armed resistance to their lightning takeover earlier this month. The Taliban said they retook three districts seized by opponents the day before and had surrounded Panjshir, the last province that remains out of their control. The tragic scenes around the airport have transfixed the world. Afghans poured onto the tarmac last week and some clung to a U.S. military transport plane as it took off, later plunging to their deaths. At least seven people died that day, in addition to the seven killed Sunday. Tens of thousands of people—Americans, other foreigners and Afghans who assisted in the war effort—are still waiting to join the airlift, which has been slowed by security issues and U.S. bureaucracy hurdles. Meanwhile, Afghanistan faces a quickly deepening economic crisis, with financial hardships increasingly affecting those in Kabul and other cities. Banks remain closed, food prices are rising, and the value of the local currency has plummeted. The suspension of commercial flights to Kabul’s international airport has in some ways exacerbated the crisis, halting the flow of some medical supplies and aid.

US special operations forces race to save former Afghan comrades in jeopardy (ABC News) Current and former U.S. military special operations and intelligence community operatives are using their own networks of contacts to get elite Afghan soldiers, intelligence assets and interpreters to safety as they’ve become increasingly disillusioned and fed up with the U.S. government-led evacuation effort in Kabul, ABC News has learned. One informal group, dubbed “Task Force Pineapple,” began as a frantic effort last weekend to get one former Afghan commando into Hamid Karzai International Airport as he was being hunted by Taliban who were texting him death threats. They knew he had worked with U.S. Special Forces and the elite SEAL Team Six for a dozen years, targeting Taliban leadership, and was therefore at high risk of reprisal. The former elite commando was finally pulled into the U.S. security perimeter at the airport, where he shouted the password “pineapple” to American troops at the checkpoint. Two days later, the group of his American friends and comrades also helped get his family inside the airport to join him. Other former members of the military and CIA have consolidated their own efforts with a separate group calling itself “Task Force Dunkirk,” a reference to the massive evacuation of British and other Allied forces from France in 1940 under threat of the Nazi juggernaut. Task Force Dunkirk and the groups it has banded together with have helped get at least 83 at-risk Afghans out of the country.

Lebanese hospitals at breaking point as everything runs out (AP) Drenched in sweat, doctors check patients lying on stretchers in the reception area of Lebanon’s largest public hospital. Air conditioners are turned off, except in operating rooms and storage units, to save on fuel. Medics scramble to find alternatives to saline solutions after the hospital ran out. The shortages are overwhelming, the medical staff exhausted. And with a new surge in coronavirus cases, Lebanon’s hospitals are at a breaking point. The country’s health sector is a casualty of the multiple crises that have plunged Lebanon into a downward spiral—a financial and economic meltdown, compounded by a complete failure of the government, runaway corruption and a pandemic that isn’t going away. The collapse is all the more dramatic since only a few years ago, Lebanon was a leader in medical care in the Arab world. The region’s rich and famous came to this small Mideast nation of 6 million for everything, from major hospital procedures to plastic surgeries.

China changes law to allow married couples to have three kids (NY Post) China will now allow married couples to legally have a third kid amid concerns that its shrinking number of working-age people will threaten the country’s future prosperity and global influence. China has tried for decades to control the population, beginning with a policy imposed in 1979 that strictly limited couples to one child. Couples who didn’t follow the rule faced fines or loss of jobs—and in some cases, mothers were forced to undergo abortions. A preference for sons also led parents to kill baby girls, causing a massive imbalance in the sex ratio. The number of working-age people, meanwhile, has fallen over the past decade and the population has barely grown, adding more strain to an aging society. With growing fears that the country would grow old before it became wealthy, the family planning rules were changed for the first time in 2015 to allow two children.

Cases up down under (CNN) Australia, like China, New Zealand, and some other countries, has attempted to completely eradicate Covid-19 inside its borders. The strategy had largely worked until recently; Australia has just 44,026 confirmed Covid-19 cases and 981 deaths. But several major cities, including Sydney, Melbourne, and the capital Canberra, are again under lockdown as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak of the Delta variant. On Saturday, thousands took to the streets of Melbourne and Sydney to protest the long lockdowns; hundreds were arrested, and at least seven police officers were injured during violent clashes. In an opinion piece published Sunday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison hinted at an end to the country’s zero Covid-19 infections strategy, but warned Australians to expect a rise in infections as restrictions relax.

[group18c]

IS SPACE EXPLORATION REALLY WORTH IT? Space VS Other Flaws

By:  Virginia González, Maria Camila Gutierrez, Juan Sebastian Larios, Isabella Silva and Eduardo Leon. Group 1. 8C.

Space exploration has always been an interesting topic (especially now with the race to Mars), but they never told us the side effects of this. It is not any secret that space exploration is not low-cost or easy to perform and develop, but have you ever wondered in what things we could use the money spent in space exploration for? For example, this money could be used for investment in other major situations like poverty and cancer. The amount of economic resources being used will be compared with other major situations that should be prioritized, but are not. Even though Space Exploration is useful because it has helped in many areas such as medicine, science, energy, and the environment; the nations of the world should not spend that immense amount of money on space exploration which is not our top priority right now, instead we should focus in other major risks and flaws, such as hunger, COVID-19 or education.  

NASA’s budget increased 3% compared to last year, this could be seen as a small amount but is a 7 million difference, for example, in 2020 NASA’s budget was 22.6 billion dollars, but now in 2021, their budget is 23.3 billion dollars (Society, 2020). Problems on Earth are huge and there are so many that we can't even count them, we have climate change, hunger, overpopulation, underdevelopment, among others. But still, some countries take as a priority exploring or establishing a human presence on other planets. The US is the world’s largest investor in space at 58% of the world total, with China, France, Russia, and Japan following in that order. The US budget for space in 2020 totaled $48 billion, whilst China continued to maintain its second-place ranking, with an estimated $8.9 billion budget. France has also continued to increase its space budget, topping European national spending to overtake Russia as the third largest investor with a $4 billion budget envelope dedicated to space in 2020 (News Desk, 2020). Also, according to studies, in 2020 there are between 88 and 115 million poor people, and as amazing as it sounds there is a solution that could eradicate poverty. According to one study made in 2017 by Anthony Clunies Ross, we could eradicate poverty by just spending approximately $1.5 billion dollars (this study was made in 2017, but this amount couldn't grow much from 2017 to 2020, so we could still eradicate poverty). This is related to space because as we saw before, countries are used to spend billions of dollars on space exploration when they could make a found and end poverty by 2045-2050 according to studies. In addition, some places protest against the launches of rockets, for example, the ones in Kourou and Cayenne, the major cities in one of the poorest French overseas departments, where almost 40% of the population lives in average poverty, the highest murder rate in all the country, and the unemployment rate around 30%, which is more than double that of the mainland France. This French department is located in South America bordering Brazil near the equator, and it uses the Space Center there, to be easier to send space rockets to the equatorial geostationary orbit taking advantage of the angular momentum of the earth's rotation. France technically uses the territory for the Guiana Space Center, spends millions in observatories, launches, and researches while the rest of the population (almost three hundred thousand) lives in misery, this territory is almost completely forgotten by the French government. The amount of money spent in the Guiana Space Center near Kourou has alarmed the poor people in Cayenne and near urban areas and almost all the department and has created multiple protests and blocked roads of workers that refuse to live in such distress while the space center spends millions that could help them in jobs, in education, security and other multiple services, and even though the Government has sent ministers and has promised to help the place with several billion euros, things still haven't changed.    

As an interesting fact, when you compare the money spent in space and the money spent on other different things like Cancer or COVID-19, the difference is huge. Let’s see how many monetary resources are or have been invested in cancer research with how much is or has been invested in space exploration. Before beginning, let’s clarify that the money that has been invested in cancer research, has not been given by the government but with donations that people have made. In 2019 a group of people helped to invest more than 145.9 million dollars in cancer research and since 1946 there has been a total of more than 4.9 billion dollars for research. Now let’s see how much budget has been invested in the space faculty. In 2019, 18 countries spent at least 200 million dollars on space-related activities and a total of 22.3 billion has been invested in 479 space companies since 2009. This means that in just 10 years there have been more than 17.4 billion dollars in space in comparison with what cancer research has made in 73 years.  If we compare how much NASA has been requesting and using compared to the research for the cure of Covid-19, we can see a gigantic difference, currently, the Covid-19 vaccine has received 3.400 million dollars from donations and the vaccine is already done, meanwhile NASA asked for a profit of 135.000 million dollars for projects in 2020, and past years (without donations) NASA earns 20.000 million dollars in a year. In other words, NASA makes and asks for huge amounts of money in critical times.  

Even though space explorations are not the best thing ever, as explained in the past paragraphs, space exploration still has many advantages such as the different accomplishments they have done in the past decades, which are important and mind-blowing. These different advancements have moved humanity into more steps every single time. For example, technological development done by many intelligent people who have been able to expand their skills and contribute to humanity with what they do with companies like NASA, they have been helping in areas like medicine, transport, public safety, energy, and the environment with projects and gadgets like "Improved solar panels, implantable heart monitors, light‐based anti‐cancer therapy, cordless tools, lightweight high‐temperature alloys used in jet engine turbines, cameras found in today's cell phones, compact water‐purification systems, global search‐and‐rescue systems, and biomedical technologies." (NASA. 2013) which are now of great importance to humanity. Another advantage it has is that the data found by scientific research in space is leading to different discoveries with benefits to life on earth. Some ongoing research from the ISS in areas like "human physiology, plant biology, materials science, and fundamental physics – continues to yield insights that benefit society. For example, studies of the human body’s response to extended periods in the microgravity environment are improving our understanding of the aging process " (NASA. 2013)  that is one of the problems that humans face and that prevents them from having a longer life and achieving more things. Also, “Fundamental scientific studies of the Martian environment, its evolution and current state represent important benchmarks of terrestrial planetary evolution, and hence, provide a model that some scientists believe will aid our growing understanding of climate change processes on Earth.” (NASA. 2013) It is vital to stop climate change because if we don't, many disasters around the world could happen affecting us all.  

Space Exploration centers and everything related to the advancements of technology in our knowledge of the cosmos has made the Homo sapiens understand a ton of information we didn’t know a few hundred years ago, in an era like ours, our humanity has learned more than in any other time about space, and every single year there's more and more. Every single part of it is extremely useful and supportive, but there are still some things that may be a little more important, and even though space is an interesting topic that still has millions of things left to discover, there are still situations and problems right now around the globe that should be more prioritized, risks to our species. Millions and millions of money are spent by big countries such as the United States, China, France, Russia, or Japan are simply exaggerated, and they could decrease it and use it in other environments, not just in the space exploration faculty. Global warming, overpopulation, the increasing hunger and droughts, the injustice, the lack of education, the bad health care and the hundreds of diseases, and much more are a huge threat and should be taken care of, every single one of them, in every place of the world. In a few years, all these problems will grow and grow until there’s no way back, and we should all work together and use the economic resources we got to try to solve them, it's not the time to waste money, and were are not saying that the space exploration is a waste of money, but when there are so many problems moving around, space shouldn’t be the number one spot of interest.

Bibliography and Sources:

Álvarez, R. (2019, June 15th). The Moon is complicated for NASA: they estimate that they need between 20,000 and 30,000 million additional dollars... Xataka. (n.d.) https://www.xataka.com/espacio/luna-se-le-complica-a-nasa-estiman-que-necesitan-20-000-30-000-millones-dolares-adicionales-presupuesto#:%7E:text=Trump%20se%20contradice&text=Algo%20casi%20imposible%20si%20consideramos,durante%20los%20pr%C3%B3ximos%20cinco%20a%C3%B1os

American Cancer Society. (2020). How American Cancer Society Research Funding Works. Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org/research/how-american-cancer-society-research-funding-works.html#:%7E:text=We’re%20also%20not%20funded,best%20scientists%20across%20the%20country

FORTUNE. (2019, August 5th). 50 Years After the Moon Landing, Money Races Into Space. Retrieved from https://fortune.com/longform/space-program-spending-by-country/#:%7E:text=That’s%20just%20on%20the%20government,to%20investment%20firm%20Space%20Angels.  

Lomborg, B. (2017, July 23). Un billón de dólares y adiós a la pobreza, según analista. El Tiempo. https://www.eltiempo.com/economia/sectores/eliminar-la-pobreza-costaria-un-billon-de-dolares-111916

Lothaire, F. (May 31st, 2019). France 24. https://www.france24.com/en/20190531-revisited-french-guiana-two-years-after-social-unrest-poverty-overseas-france  

Marino, E. (June 2nd 2014). The Borden Project. https://borgenproject.org/poverty-in-french-guiana/  

NASA. (2013). Benefits-Stemming-from-Space-Exploration. https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/files/Benefits-Stemming-from-Space-Exploration-2013-TAGGED.pdf  

NASA. (n. d.). Why We Explore. https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/why_we_explore_main.html#.YCV39mgzbIX  

The Economist. (April 22nd, 2017) Cayenne, French Guiana. https://www.economist.com/europe/2017/04/22/french-guiana-in-south-america-seeks-more-autonomy-from-france  

Who needs $ 31 billion for tests and vaccines? (2020, July 1). News ONU. https://news.un.org/es/story/2020/06/1476672  

[phroyd]

HOUSTON — Over the past week, Dr. Aric Bakshy, an emergency physician at Houston Methodist, had to decide which coronavirus patients he should admit to the increasingly busy hospital and which he could safely send home.

To discuss questions like these, he has turned to doctors at hospitals where he trained in New York City that were overwhelmed by the coronavirus this spring. Now their situations are reversed.

Thumbing through a dog-eared notebook during a recent shift, Dr. Bakshy counted about a dozen people he had treated for coronavirus symptoms. His colleagues in Houston had attended to many more. Meanwhile, friends at Elmhurst Hospital in Queens told him that their emergency department was seeing only one or two virus patients a day.

As Houston’s hospitals face the worst outbreak of the virus in Texas, now one of the nation’s hot zones, Dr. Bakshy and others are experiencing some of the same challenges that their New York counterparts did just a few months ago and are trying to adapt some lessons from that crisis.

Like New York City in March, the Houston hospitals are experiencing a steep rise in caseloads that is filling their beds, stretching their staffing, creating a backlog in testing and limiting the availability of other medical services. Attempts to buy more supplies — including certain protective gear, vital-sign monitors and testing components — are frustrated by weeks of delays, according to hospital leaders.

Methodist is swiftly expanding capacity and hiring more staff, including local nurses who had left their jobs to work in New York when the city’s hospitals were pummeled. “A bed’s a bed until you have a staff,” said Avery Taylor, the nurse manager of a coronavirus unit created just outside Houston in March.

But with the virus raging across the region, medical workers are falling ill. Dr. Bakshy was one of the first at Methodist to have Covid-19, getting it in early March. As of this past week, the number of nurses being hired to help open new units would only replace those out sick.

Methodist, a top-ranked system of eight hospitals, had nearly 400 coronavirus inpatients last Sunday. Nearly a week later — even as physicians tried to be conservative in admitting patients and discharged others as soon as they safely could — the figure was 575. The flagship hospital added 130 inpatient beds in recent days and rapidly filled them. Now, administrators estimate that the number of Covid-19 patients across the system could reach 800 or 900 in coming weeks, and are planning to accommodate up to 1,000.

Other Houston hospitals are seeing similar streams of patients. Inundated public hospitals are sending some patients to private institutions like Methodist while reportedly transferring others to Galveston, 50 miles away.

“What’s been disheartening over the past week or two has been that it feels like we’re back at square one,” Dr. Mir M. Alikhan, a pulmonary and critical care specialist, said to his medical team before rounds. “It’s really a terrible kind of sinking feeling. But we’re not truly back at square one, right? Because we have the last three months of expertise that we’ve developed.”

Houston’s hospitals have some advantages compared with New York’s in the spring. Doctors know more now about how to manage the sickest patients and are more often able to avoid breathing tubes, ventilators and critical care. But one treatment shown to shorten hospital stays, the antiviral drug remdesivir, is being allocated by the state, and hospitals here have repeatedly run out of it.

Methodist’s leaders, who were planning for a surge and had been dealing with a stream of coronavirus patients since March, pointed to the most important difference between Houston now and New York then: the patient mix. The majority of new patients here are younger and healthier and are not as severely ill as many were in New York City, where officials report that over 22,000 are likely to have died from the disease.

But so far, the death toll has not climbed much in Texas and other parts of the South and West seeing a surge.

“We are having to pioneer the way of trying to understand a different curve with some very good characteristics versus the last curve,” said Dr. Marc Boom, Methodist’s president and chief executive.

But he cautioned, “What I’m watching really closely is whether we see a shift back in age — because if the young really get this way out there and then start infecting all of the older, then we may look more like the last wave.”

Dr. Sylvie de Souza, head of the emergency department at Brooklyn Hospital Center, which on Friday reported no new coronavirus admissions and no current inpatient cases, said that she was receiving distressing text messages from doctors elsewhere in the country asking for advice. “It’s disappointing,” she said. “It sort of brings me back to the end of March, and it’s like being there all over again.”

One of the most worrisome trends, hospital administrators said, is the increased politicization of public health measures against the virus. The hospitals in Houston are operating in a very different environment now compared with during New York’s peak in the spring, when federal, state and local leaders agreed to a national pause.

Here in Texas, political leaders have been at odds with one another, and residents sharply disagree about the danger the virus poses and what precautions are necessary. At some Houston hospitals, visitors and patients have refused to wear masks, creating conflicts with security guards at entrances.

As the Fourth of July holiday approached, Methodist spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a public information campaign — including full-page ads wrapped around a local newspaper, social media efforts and billboards. “Stay Safe and Stay Home This July 4th,” the signs say. Methodist also sent a text message to about 10,000 patients providing safety tips. In response, the hospital system received some angry phone calls and texts. “How about you stay at home and quit telling me what to do,” was how one hospital official described them.

The economy in Texas remains open, with only bars shuttered, but Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday issued an order requiring Texans to wear face coverings in public after long opposing such a mandate.

“There is a glimmer of some optimism,” Dr. Boom told the health system’s physicians this past week, reporting that county testing figures showed some signs of improvement.

Many hospitals in New York during the earlier crisis essentially became all-Covid units and endured billions of dollars in losses.

But Methodist and some other private Houston institutions are trying to operate differently now after taking a financial beating from shutting down elective surgeries and procedures this spring.

With safety protocols and expansion plans in place, they are trying to maintain as many services as possible for as long as possible while contending with the flood of coronavirus cases. “No one’s ever done that before,” Dr. Boom said. “We were seeing all the harm from patients delaying care.”

Doctors and nurses have combed through lists of surgical patients, choosing whom to delay. The easiest surgeries to maintain are those that do not require a hospital stay, like treatment for cataracts. Some surgeons who used to keep patients overnight after knee and hip replacements are now allowing them to leave the same day.

The most agonizing decisions concern the hospital’s robust transplant program, in part because its recipients often require a stay in intensive care. Dr. A. Osama Gaber, the program’s director, spoke with a dialysis patient whose kidney transplant had been postponed from March. “She was in tears,” he said. “She almost wanted me to swear to her we’re not going to put her off again.” For now the surgeons plan to continue cautiously.

A key strategy to maintain services is increasing what hospital officials call throughput — discharging patients as quickly as is safely possible. Yet it is not always clear who is ready to leave. Alexander Nelson-Fryar, a 25-year-old treated for coronavirus pneumonia at Methodist, was discharged from the hospital this past week. Hours after he left, he said, he began laboring to breathe and an ambulance sped him back to Methodist. By the end of the week, he was in intensive care receiving a high dose of pressurized oxygen.

As cases began rising in New York, some overwhelmed emergency departments sent home coronavirus patients only to see them return gravely ill or die. “We realized there was no way of predicting which direction a patient would go,” said Dr. de Souza, the emergency department director in Brooklyn. As a result, she said, she came to believe that any patient aside from those with the mildest symptoms should be admitted to the hospital or otherwise monitored.

But doctors in Houston are tightening criteria for admission. Dr. Bakshy, the Methodist emergency room doctor, who trained at Bellevue and Mount Sinai in New York, said that he was conferring with his former colleagues.

“We all have questions about who truly needs to be hospitalized versus not,” he said. “If we had unlimited resources, of course we’d bring people in just to make sure they’re OK.”

Now, he said, a patient has to have low oxygen levels or serious underlying conditions “to really justify coming into the hospital,” although exceptions can be made.

Another challenge in New York and Houston has been determining who is infected and needs to be isolated from others. Nearly 40 percent of all emergency room patients at Methodist are now testing positive; some of them lack symptoms.

Because test results are sometimes delayed by more than a day, Dr. Bakshy and his colleagues have had to make their best guesses as to whether someone should be admitted to a ward for coronavirus patients.

Hospitals in New York tended to move patients within their own systems to level loads. In Houston, the wealthier institutions have joined together to aid those least able to expand capacity.

This past week, Methodist sent a team to a nearby public hospital to accept transfer patients. Top officials from Methodist and the other flagship hospitals that make up the Texas Medical Center, normally competitors, consult regularly by phone. They have been coordinating for days with the county’s already overwhelmed safety-net system, Harris Health, taking in its patients. The private institutions have also agreed to take turns, with others in the state, accepting patients from rural hospitals.

Better Treatments

One morning this past week, Molly Tipps, a registered nurse, brought some medications to an older patient at the Methodist ward outside Houston. “I have the dexamethasone for your lungs,” she told the patient, Dee Morton. Preliminary results of a large study, released last month but not yet peer-reviewed, showed that the drug, a common steroid, saved lives among those who were critically ill with Covid-19 or required oxygen.

Ms. Morton, 79, said she was confident she would recover. “I’m going to make it to 80,” she said. A much lower proportion of patients have been dying from the virus locally and nationally than they were several months ago.

The ward where Ms. Morton is being treated is inside a long-term acute-care facility and is known as the Highly Infectious Disease Unit. Created to treat Ebola several years ago, it now serves as a safety valve for the Methodist system. It takes in coronavirus patients who are improving but for various reasons — from lacking housing to living in a nursing home that will not accommodate them — cannot go home. In Ms. Morton’s case, she was too weak, and after transferring to the unit, some signs of infection, including a fever, rebounded.

At Methodist’s flagship hospital in central Houston, Rosa V. Hernandez, 72, a patient in the intensive care unit, has pneumonia so severe that if she had fallen sick several months ago, she would probably have been put on a ventilator and made unconscious.

But doctors, based on the experiences of physicians in New York and elsewhere, are avoiding ventilators when possible and are maintaining Ms. Hernandez on a high flow of oxygen through a nasal tube. She is on the maximum setting, but can talk to the clinical team and exchange text messages with her daughter, who is also a Methodist inpatient with the coronavirus.

“I took it seriously,” Ms. Hernandez said of the virus. But she joined a small party of eight people for her granddaughter’s birthday, a decision she now described with regret. “Just a birthday cake. What’s a birthday cake without health?”

She is getting remdesivir, an antiviral that was tested in clinical trials in New York and Houston, among other cities, and a new experimental drug.

Methodist was part of two remdesivir trials. But because the research has ended, it and other hospitals now depend on allotments of the drug from the state. As virus cases increased, the supplies ran short, said Katherine Perez, an infectious-disease specialist at the hospital. “In Houston, every hospital that’s gotten the drug, everyone’s just kind of used it up,” she said.

The hospital received 1,000 vials, its largest batch ever, a little over a week ago. Within four days, all the patients who could be treated with it had been selected, and pharmacists were awaiting another shipment.

A new chance to test remdesivir in a clinical trial in combination with another drug may provide some relief. As cases rise, Methodist researchers are being flooded with offers to participate in studies, with about 10 to 12 new opportunities a week being vetted centrally. Without solid research, “your option is to do a bunch of unproven, potentially harmful, potentially futile, interventions to very sick people who are depending on you,” said Dr. H. Dirk Sostman, president of Methodist’s academic medicine institute.

Convincing the Public

Dr. Boom, the Methodist chief executive, said if he could preserve one thing from the New York experience in March, it would be how the country came together as it had in previous disasters.

When cases began rising again in Texas, hospital officials here spent close to a month trying to educate the public about the risks of contagion. “It didn’t work,” Dr. Boom said.

“How do you get the message out there when certain people just don’t hear it and then you’re dealing with quarantine fatigue and it’s summer and I’m done with school and I just believe I’m 20 and I’m invincible?” he asked. “We told everybody this is all about the sick, vulnerable population, which was the truth, but they heard the message of ‘Well, therefore I’m fine.’ And now we’re doing the re-education on that.”

But even some of Methodist’s physicians, like many Texans, take issue with measures promoted by most public health experts. “A lot of the masks that people are wearing in public don’t do very much,” said Dr. Beau Briese, director of international emergency medicine, contradicting studies that point to a substantial benefit with universal face coverings.

Dr. Briese, 41, believes the soundest approach is to keep opening businesses but have the population at highest risk, including older people, stay apart from the broader public. Some of Methodist’s patients find even those measures objectionable.

One patient on Dr. Bakshy’s emergency room shift, Genevieve McCall, 96, came to the hospital with a satchel full of nightgowns because her legs had swollen, a sign of worsening heart failure. Dr. Bakshy asked about any exposure to the coronavirus. She said her caregiver had been out since the previous day with a fever and a sore throat.

Born five years after the 1918 flu, Ms. McCall, a retired nurse, said that until the coronavirus, she told people she thought she had seen everything. “I question a lot of things,” she said of the safety restrictions. “They’ve been too tight about it. And every time that there is a little bit of a spike, then we’re restricted more.”

Ms. McCall, who tested negative for the virus, added: “This is a political year. I think that politics has a lot to do with the way this has been handled. And I think it’s been mishandled.”

She said that it was difficult to be stuck in her apartment in an independent-living complex that was prohibiting visitors, canceling many activities and delivering meals to rooms instead of serving them in the dining room. “It’s very depressing,” she said. “Until this afternoon, when my daughter walked in the door to come and pick me up and bring me here, I had not been able to see her or touch her for three months, more.”

[chiseler]

When Nature Was Golden

Let’s open with a few passages of deathless prose from the classics.

EMORY’S SOFT-SHELLED TURTLE (18 in.; to 35 lb.) is the only Southwest member of an edible group with long necks and short tempers. Handle with care.

BELTED KINGFISHER Where there are fish there are Kingfishers, beating the air in irregular flight, diving into water with a splash and emerging with fish in their beaks.

THE EASTERN MOLE or common mole makes the mounds that dot your lawn. You are unlikely to see any moles, for they stay underground unless molested.

You saw them in the basement of your third-grade best friend, or in your school library. If you were lucky, you had one or two at home—your older sister read them first, years ago; maybe they’d even belonged to one of your parents. Paperback books just a bit smaller than pulp fiction novels, though equally thick, their illustrated pages of a glossier, higher quality. The typeface was Futura, that design marvel of yore, also seen in the old Hall of Dinosaurs in the American Museum of Natural History. Insects, Seashores, Mammals, Reptiles and Amphibians—which did you have? The Golden Guides gave us our natural world in all its glory, and managed to do it in a singular style, dry yet affectionate, concisely informative and never, ever dumbed-down. They were written for children, but each, too, is a cracking read for any adult eager to learn. Or to remember.

Naturalist Herbert S. Zim, who founded this series of guides and wrote many of them, was born in New York in 1909. Raised there and in Southern California, he finished his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D at Columbia University. He was then a science teacher for twenty-five years—at Ethical Culture schools in New York City, and later at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. One wonders where on earth he found the time to crank out so many books. Each was a loving collaboration with other educators, not solely Zim’s effort. But the synthesis of these people, the meticulous research required to bring together all the info, was his responsibility, from 1949 until the early 1970s. Zim, in 1969, was also the editor of an 18-volume set of encyclopedias named Our Wonderful World.

Of the 84 Golden Guides, Zim wrote or co-wrote 24. Is it confirmation bias that makes me believe those are the best of the bunch? The simple style is charming, with phrases like Rock Ground Squirrels, found in the Southwest, are our largest terrestrial squirrels. What grace: with a hint of pride to be from the United States, he said that the squirrels are ours. (I also appreciate that he uses the word “unique” correctly, without qualifiers. The Barn Owl is unique, not “totally” or “somewhat” unique.) The occasional anachronism amuses. Once in awhile Zim tells us which kind of turtle or ground squirrel makes a good pet, if captured.

You have been seeing birds as far back as you can remember and you will continue seeing them wherever you may be. It’s a real pleasure to see them. You can see more birds and more kinds of birds by learning how to look. This book will help you. It is not written for the expert, but for people who want to see birds just for the joy of it.

First become familiar with the mammals pictured and described. Look through the Key to Mammals on the next pages so that you can recognize the major mammal groups. Try to see the mammal well enough to decide, for example, whether it is a rodent or a shrew.

Familiarity with fishes gained by thumbing through pages at odd moments may enable you to make rough identifications at sight. Use this book as an “arm-chair” guide, but also take it into the field with you, for that is where it can be used best. On fishing trips take it along in a plastic bag.

Originally named the Golden Nature Guides, the series name was shortened to “Golden Guides” when they began branching out into other topics—for example, Guns, Sports Cars, and Casino Games. But these adult subjects did not make it into most family rooms, and the more popular guides about flora and fauna, insects, weather, stars, and the like are the ones most frequently found today. The illustrations by James Gordon Irving and others are remarkably detailed, the beauty of pure accuracy from a time when nature photography was rare.

A particularly enchanting feature of the Guides is the family tree, usually a two-page spread of swooping, color-gradated branches, each limb ending in a small picture of an animal in its biological order, labeled something like “Cutlass Fishes” or “Scorpion-Flies.” No less an artist than Matt Groening would eventually parody this format for his Life In Hell comic, describing the evolution of record-store clerks from sullen teens.

Herbert Zim, in his long career as an educator, was the one who brought lab instruction into science courses at the elementary-school level. Anyone who looked through a microscope before they reached ninth grade might have him to thank. And one attribute of Golden Guides is the way they expect one to get involved, not just in the field, but with “amateur activities” like building a birdhouse or preserving animal tracks in plaster. Through such deep engagement, the reader is encouraged not just to appreciate nature, but to discover new things about it, making new contributions to science.

He demanded no less of himself. Going through what biographical information there is on Zim, which is all very straightforward, one notices the list of scientific associations he belonged to, numbering more than twenty. They included the Audubon Society, the Union of Concerned Scientists, the Everglades Natural History Association, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Truly, this was a vigorous and busy man.

Like so many cultural products of their time, the Golden Guides can look antithetical to today’s progressive values. Just ask the Yuman Indian woman who sits weaving cotton, bare-breasted, in one of the pictures in a guide to the American Southwest. In little vignettes we see depicted dozens of trappers, fishermen, tourists, birdwatchers—all white, mostly male. Under the entry for “Other Suckers,” Zim claims “some are so easily caught that every boy knows them.” If the Guides were written just for boys, this is a great shame, though their ubiquity meant that many girls of all different backgrounds would find them. The scientific language is devoid of prejudice, by its nature, and is there for any young person dedicated enough to study it. It prizes the natural world above all. One passage recently took me by surprise for its passion, on a page about the fishing industry: If you are interested in fishes, conservation—the wise use of all our natural resources—is your problem too.

Maybe it’s our current predicament that makes one particularly fond of the outside world, and of non-humans. Back in March, I started watching a live online feed from The Aquarium of the Pacific each night, comforted by the variety of fish, sharks, and rays that swam peacefully by. Curious about a small fish with long, showy gold fins, I consulted Fishes to identify it, and Irving didn’t disappoint. Meanwhile, Herbert Zim informed me that the species, named Lookdown, belong to the mackerel-like family of “jacks” and are fine eating.

In 1934, Zim married the Russian-born Sonia (Sonnie) Bleeker, who had studied anthropology at Columbia. The couple had two sons. Bleeker, too, worked in the book world—as an editor at Simon and Schuster, then as a full-time children’s book author. They eventually moved to Florida. Just like the descriptions in the guides, these biographical facts fall well short of being dull. They force me to imagine how energetic, how full life must have been in the Zim household as the kids grew up; and how many subtropical species kept Herbert company in his later years. After Bleeker’s death, he married Grace K. Showe in 1978. He died at Plantation Key in 1994, of complications from Alzheimer’s.

LIVE OAK has become a symbol of the South. The low, spreading tree, often covered with Spanish moss, marks old plantations and roadside plantings. The elliptical, blunt-tipped, leathery leaves are evergreen—that is, they remain green and on the tree throughout the year. The acorns are small but edible; wood is used for furniture. Two other southeastern Oaks (Laurel and Willow) have leaves of somewhat similar shape, but they are thinner and more pointed than Live Oak. Several western Oaks are evergreen. Botanists apply the unqualified name Live Oak only to this species. Height 40 to 60 ft. Beech family

In a Manhattan backyard in the middle of June, a couple of mourning doves fly between the trees. I’m aware that the gentle woop-woop-woop sound they make is not their voices but their wingbeats. The dogwood’s cream-yellow blooms have begun to fade, as is proper at this time. Above me a juvenile blue jay, still fluffy, shrieks out his typical noisy cry. I’m intrigued to see a red speck moving among the hairs on my arm—it’s a clover mite, an insect I haven’t noticed in decades. As recently as 1982, I was a four-year-old marveling at the rolling movement of clover mites on a windowsill—smaller than pin heads, bright candy-apple red. Somewhere along the line they stopped showing up, at least with the frequency they did back then. Now, seeing even one evinces a swell of emotion. (Incidentally, the same is true of another brightly-colored beauty, the red eft, which used to be so numerous in summer that we had to tiptoe on New York State gravel roads to avoid stepping on them.)

We learn more from Zim’s texts than he bargained for. His Golden Guides speak of a midcentury United States where all these animals and plants were still commonly seen. Just based upon my memories from the past 20 or 30 years, there seem to be fewer animals everywhere; in the 1950s, then, was the Earth just teeming with them, in every corner of every suburban lawn? Having learned that the biomass of insects, in particular, has started to fall fast, I yearn for the spectacle of clover mites and hastily do a search for them. Yes, the internet reassures me: we in New York City still have lots of the red bugs, enough to warrant a FAQ page from a pest-control company. They’re harmless to humans, pets, houses, and furniture. They munch grass and reproduce parthenogenically, which means every individual can lay viable eggs, without mating.

Of course, the sites telling me this haven’t worded their data quite as eloquently as Herbert Zim would have. Still, I thank him for the spark of curiosity that got me there at all. He taught me not just how to identify a clover mite, but how to care about her.

by Amanda Nazario

[alatismeni-theitsa]

anti LO anon opinions - pt1:

Sorry I posted a lot of them late. I am very busy this period and it's hard to schedule some free time in front of my PC. But I read all of your opinions as soon as I get them!

(1) Webtoons is doing a TikTok pomo and the people they got for LO cosplaying is so bad? Like the costumes are cheap looking, the makeup is just so flat, and the acting is well, TikTok acting. They even got someone who is maybe mid 20s to play Hades when it's like no lets respect Smythe's vision and get a 40-50 year old man who looks like Mads Mikkelsen (or did they avoid that because it would make people creeped out realizing how gross LO Hades is for being so old and lusting after a teenage? IDK)

(2) i just discovered lore olympus for the first time because of your blog. i'm still not sure what it is exactly but what i know is that this is the most disrespectful shit i have ever seen. how is this in any way appropiate? especially since there are people that still practice the religion today. and even if there weren't, it's a RELIGION. i'm still in disbelief that someone would be this disrespectful

(3) Going off Patreon the banner for Lo is gonna change to Persephone with WANTED trailing her because she's a ~wanted woman~ like yes ok arrest her? make her suffer? That's not a threat she's an awful mass murderer who only cares about herself and her screwing her capitalist slave owning boss?? lol i don't feel bad for her at all

(4) I know many on her have compared Let’s Play to LO, but LP blows LO out of the water in terms of how it deals with sexual assault. LP has the victim react as one would, and has a major focus on how she’s taking back her own agency/ strengths and healing herself as well as not be “broken” for a guy to fix, meanwhile LO only uses it to make Persephone not technically a Virgin with Hades and to make him look better, & she forgets it unless it’s to hate Apollo. LP has problems but not like LO does.

(5) I don't know if it's the bad design or writing but i find it so annoying in LO is how unmotherly Hera is. She's drawn and depicted as a hard partying, chain smoking sexpot (which yes a mother can do, but LO Hera seems to not care for even her literal children) who acts more like an older sister to others like Ares and Persephone than a mother figure. LO Demeter and Hestia are depicted and drawn like adults, but LO Hera acts and is designed like she's just a yellow, taller teenaged Persephone.

(6) Someone explain this to me. In LO Persephone has some split personality, one normal and one "Queenly", and we know she obvs becomes Queen via marriage to Hades, but why is the Queenly side, the one that we see via the Fates as her ultimate endgame/form, depicted as so negative to Hades? It berates Persephone for having a crush and how it makes her weaker for it, and i just don't see how we know that'll be her final form, yet it's seems to hate her eventual husband? Surely that's not good sign?

(7) im gonna cry i opened tiktok and they put some Lo ad on it but its a cosplayer as hera and she looks like a simpsons character it looks so bad how could they do this to me

(There will also be a part 2 because desktop version of Tumblr suddenly has a limit on text)

[sushiniece59-blog]

Profile Zaz Amsterdam

Regularly Asked Questions Concerning Motorized Home Window Coverings

#toc background: #f9f9f9;border: 1px solid #aaa;display: table;margin-bottom: 1em;padding: 1em;width: 350px; .toctitle font-weight: 700;text-align: center;

Content

Maintaining Faux Timber Blinds.

Upright Blinds Vs Horizontal Blinds.

Blinds Ca Cordless 1" Mini Blind.

Pvc Venetian Home Window Blind.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

Shop Custom Blinds & Shades.

Keeping Faux Timber Blinds.

As the fads of home window treatments change, there is constantly a hot brand-new alternative that makes it to the first. There are numerous typical hand-operated alternatives that permit you to change the blinds with a cord that you take down to lift the slats, and release to have them decreased back down. Yet there are now blinds that featured automatic systems also. When considering setting up Zonwering , you also intend to take into account whether you desire others to be able to see into your house in each area.

Vertical Blinds Vs Horizontal Blinds.

Bed rooms and also bathrooms might need more personal privacy, yet living rooms and kitchen areas might be okay for seeing out and also in, so you have the ability to view the house when you're outside. "Whenever I take purchasers to consider a house, we invest most of the moment standing in the kitchen area, resting at the table, getting a feeling for just how this cooking area will match your way of living," he stated.

Both of these circumstances decrease the power tons on the COOLING AND HEATING system. If you have generic, outdated or inexpensive components, changing them with newer, more. tailored versions can make your bathroom sparkle and also look more high-end. For about $40 to $100, you can replace a shoddy washroom vanity or ceiling light with something elegant. A spa-style chrome shower head adds a touch of luxury for concerning $80. Towel bars are the simplest and cheapest solution at regarding $20 to $30.

What color bedroom helps you sleep?

A recess measurement of your window is the measurement of the opening inside of it. The reason for this measurement is that a recess blind will fit into the opening of your window; it won't overlap the walls on either side of it.

"It absolutely adds value. Simply be careful not to exaggerate it." A major kitchen area remodel, meanwhile, would set you back $54,909 and has a 74.2 percent ROI. New windows look sharper, insulate a home better, save money on energy as well as, for customers, avoid the expense and headache of doing upgrades. Wood is the preferred trim coating, however various other replacement home window tasks also repay. An extra upscale variation prices $16,798 and also has an ROI of 74 percent. Vinyl home window replacements set you back concerning $9,978 and have an ROI of 78.7 percent, while a much more high end version expenses $13,385 as well as has a 76.6 percent ROI.

What are the most popular window blinds?

Wood blinds are better for large windows because they are lighter in weight than faux wood. Since wood can warp or crack, they are not recommended for high humidity areas like a bathroom or kitchen. Faux Wood Blinds are made out of a composite PVC.

Blinds Ca Cordless 1" Mini Blind.

If you're thinking of a side-return extension, bear in mind that you could lose home windows and also the light they would certainly bring in. Roof lights over the extension will repair this, or you could install a partially or totally glazed roofing to maintain the area light and also airy. Sheers - Layers of blinds, sheers, and also drapes can make home windows look outdated.

The installation on a few of these systems isn't as simple as you'll require an electrical contractor to do the work for you, but it is well worth the financial investment. A mechanized shading option that fits your custom residence design helping you make your space bright or more personal with simply one press of a switch. We also appreciate that Appeal offers a variety of over 400 different textile types and also a wise cordless wall control panel. Due to the fact that they are a silent remedy which takes care of to combine with elegance as well as hundreds of personalization choices, we selected Somfy Motorized Shades.

Experiment by leaving the other layers as well as eliminating the sheers. Additionally, when it is time to sell your residence, the reality that you bought custom draper will certainly have a large influence on any kind of potential buyers as well as will include worth to your home. Sometimes strong is the means to go, particularly if you wish to attract the eye to your windows. If you are seeking an extra significant declaration after that as opposed to picking a subtle material, you should select a large pattern. With custom-made curtains, you can always feel confident that they are made of the best quality textile.

Consequently, yes, motorized window treatments deserve consideration as a financial investment in your house. A few D-cell batteries can likely run your shades for 3-5 years ... at a really budget friendly cost. Motorized tones are readily available in battery operated and also hardwired options, consequently making them an appropriate option for essentially every type of residence. Reducing shades in the summer blocks the sun from overheating an area. In the winter season, increasing the shades enables the house owner to record natural solar warm.

In 10 to 20 minutes, a pro can place brackets in a home window frame, mount the blind, as well as affix the devices that move the slats, at a total cost of between $43 to $94 per home window.

Plastic blinds will decrease your material prices, whereas timber and also high-quality plastic blinds will increase them.

For 8 windows, roughly the number located in 2 large living areas plus two to 4 bedrooms, that amounts to in between $345 and also $750 for blinds.

Work with among our design experts to pick the best material as well as style to highlight your design.

Their inconspicuous installation collaborates with any kind of home window style.

They are great for both light filtering system and also space darkening, and can be configured with convenient choices like motorization.

Blinds call for much less product as well as time to produce and take less time to install.

A new steel door may not seem like the sexiest addition to your home, however it's one of the economically savviest. According to Remodeling Magazine's 2014 Expense V. Value report, home owners who mount a steel door can expect to recover nearly 97 percent of the cost when the house sells. The largest component of your conservatory will certainly be the glass, so explore your alternatives thoroughly.

Pvc Venetian Home Window Blind.

While double glazing is the minimum typical allowed by developing laws, there is a whole host of polishing options available, including solar control glass as well as self cleansing glass. Once again, think about which will suit your way of living and also your home.

Occasionally the upgrade can even be much more energy-efficient, raising not only the aesthetic appeals of your house but "greening" it up as well. Everybody likes to conserve money on power bills, making ceiling fans an appealing enhancement to any type of home. Ceiling fans reduced air conditioning prices, and they can likewise minimize heating prices by flowing cozy air away from the ceiling.

Are Hillarys Blinds Expensive?

What is the most relaxing bedroom color?

The cost to install blinds or shades varies based on many factors. The Home Depot offers basic installation starting at $119 for up to 10 blinds, but also has custom options available starting at $250 per window.

So does a steel door truly make that large of an impact? Not always, yet it improves safety and security as well as supplies power financial savings with much better insulation. That's the other reason outside jobs also rise the value of a residence-- they often tend to be useful. Unlike including https://www.suntex.nl/jaloezieen-op-maat/ to a cooking area that a new owner might not love, new home siding or new home windows usually attract any kind of purchaser.

Shop Custom Blinds & Tones.

You never need to worry about any type of imperfections, grabs in the material or color variation since the fabric is diligently inspected before the drapes are made. Cordless home window treatments are easy to use and also are likewise the best selection if you're enhancing a nursery or concerned regarding kid security. While supplying traditional style as well as personal privacy, shutters alone can look cool as well as stark. To soften the look of your shutters, add curtains or drapes. Make sure that your curtain rods are long enough to remove the shutters for simple opening as well as closing.

What is the most popular window treatment?

Keep in mind that interior window coverings such as honeycomb shades, wood blinds, and faux wood blinds reduce solar heat most effectively if the surface facing the glass is a reflective color like white.

[jchb32273]

Fictober 2019 - Day 9

Fanfiction - Dragon Age AO3 Link

Two days behind now... oh well! Have fun today with... 

There Is A Certain Taste To It.

~~~~~

Leliana bounced into our dorm room, her usual perky self. She saw me at my desk looking through a book and rolled her eyes.

“Studying again?” she tittered. “It’s a nice day out today and the roads are finally clear! We could go to the mall, or maybe…” she trailed off when she noticed the book I was flipping through. “A cookbook?”

“A cake cookbook,” I said with a smile.

“Why are you looking at cake recipes? What’s the upcoming occasion?”

“Who says it’s for anything special?” I blushed. “Maybe I just want to learn how to bake!”

“Riiight…” she giggled. “Your blush says it all. It’s for loverboy, isn’t it?!”

I sighed. “His birthday is tomorrow. Twenty-third of Wintersmarch.”

“Oh, I love birthdays! They are so much fun! Are you planning anything else?”

“His bandmates are taking him to a local pub. I just asked Dorian if I could bring a cake. He said yes, and gave me some money to buy one… but then I thought a homemade cake would be much tastier than a store-bought one.”

“What’s Alistair’s poison?” she asked. At my confused look, she clarified. “What flavor cake is his favorite?”

“He likes chocolate. I thought at first I’d make him a cheesecake, but then I thought that was too obvious.” I flipped through the cookbook, showing Leli all of the recipes I had bookmarked. “But there are so many types!”

She placed her finger down on a page that caught her eye. “Ooh, a chocolate whiskey cake… with a whiskey caramel drizzle! That sounds very drool-worthy!” She then plucked the book out of my hand and said, “Let’s head to the supermarket!��

An hour later we were in our dorm’s small kitchenette, located just off the lobby. I had everything spread out and ready.

“Okay, the first step,” I read. “Preheat the oven to 180C.”

Leliana pushed the buttons on the stove, but nothing happened. “Um, Kylara? I think our oven is broken.”

Wynne, our dorm mother walked by just then. “Ah, yes. Sorry girls. It is broken. The repairman can’t come by to fix it until the very end of the month.”

“Now what?”

“Call Cullen,” she suggested. Maybe their dorm’s oven is working.”

After packing everything back up and hoofing over to Cullen’s dorm building, he greeted us outside.

“Your oven is working, yes?” Leli asked again.

Cullen had an interesting look on his face. “Um, yeah… it works. Not sure if you are going to want to use it though.”

“Why not?” I asked as we headed through their lobby. However, he didn’t have to answer. It was made perfectly clear once we saw the condition it was in. Grime, oil, and all sorts of caked-on food and grease were all over.

Cullen looked embarrassed. “Well, we are a bunch of dudes living together!”

“Really?” I said, eyebrows raised. “That is your excuse to not clean?” I sighed as looked at the filth-ridden stove. “I’m surprised this hasn’t caught on fire yet…”

“Or been condemned,” Leliana shook her head.

“Please tell me you have some cleaning supplies?” I asked Cullen.

He opened the cupboard below the sink and to our surprise, it was filled with brand-new, unopened supplies. I even found a scouring brush and rubber work gloves. “Well, let’s get this done!” I exclaimed.

Two hours later, I had the stove, sink, counters, and even their refrigerator cleaned out. Oh, the mess I had to scour out of it… I never wanted to think about ever again! The work had gone fairly smoothly with both Cullen and Leli helping. We had gathered a bit of an audience of boys standing around and watching us clean. When we had finished, there were whistles and applause.

I turned to those standing about and lightly scolded, “Don’t let it get like that again!”

Sadly, no one seemed to care as they all wandered off. I sighed.

“Don’t worry, ‘Lara. I’ll get a few other guys to help me keep it clean from now on. You have my thanks and appreciation, at the very least.” He looked at the sparkling stove and clean countertops. “So, after all of this, what are you making? Looks like cake ingredients?” Then he slapped his forehead. “That’s right! Alistair’s birthday is tomorrow! That is really nice of you to make him a cake. You're going let me help too, I hope!”

The clean oven was now preheating and I was starting to measure out the ingredients. I muttered quietly to myself. “Let’s see… 450 grams of sugar, 450 grams of flour…” Then my phone buzzed. I wiped my hands on my apron and pulled my phone out. It was Alistair.

[15:40] Hey Kylara, love. What are you up to?

        Not much. Just planning a little surprise for tomorrow… 😘 [15:40]

[15:41] Really? What is happening tomorrow?

                                         As if you don’t know, Mr Smarty-Pants. [15:42]

[15:42] Does it involve you in some barely-there lingerie?

                                                                                                        😲 [15:43]

[15:44] Well, I can dream, can’t I? ❤️❤️❤️

                                                                             😨 You are so evil! [15:44]

[15:45] That’s me, Mr Charming 😈

[15:45] So you’ll be there, tomorrow? 7 pm?

                                                         Wouldn’t dream of missing it! [15:46]

                                                       Anyhoo… Let me get back to my task.                                                           Don’t want to mess it up for you! [15:47]

[15:47] Awww! You’re so good to me, sweetheart! 😍

Leliana saw Kylara grinning as she texted on her phone. It has to be Alistair. No one else makes her smile like that! I am so glad they are together… it has done wonders to help boost Kylara’s opinion of herself! Then she stared at the bowl. Wonder where she left off with the ingredients? Hmm, 450 grams of both sugar and flour? She eyed the bowl. That doesn’t look like enough. I better add a bit more… to be safe, of course. Then Leliana’s phone rang. She answered it.

Cullen, meanwhile, was in charge of making the whiskey caramel sauce for the cake. The first and second batches were both burnt and he scowled as he stared at the black goo in the pot. I am a science major! I can follow complex formulas down to the smallest detail! So how come I can’t seem to get this stupid caramel recipe to work?! He stated at his own phone. I suppose if my lab partner would stop texting me with his incessant questions and distracting me… He sighed. Well, guess I start over… again!

I closed the app on my phone and saw Leli was now on her phone. She was supposed to be in charge of the wet ingredients for the cake. In her mixing bowl, I could see the eggs and the buttermilk were there, but not mixed yet. So I quickly started the electric mixer and blended what she had so far. Then I set it down and went back to my bowl, which so far had only the flour and sugar. I added in the cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and the salt and used a fork to stir it all up.

With that done, I saw Leli was still on her phone. I shrugged and headed back to her bowl and added in the oil, vanilla, warm water, and the imitation whiskey flavoring that I had found at the market. As I blended those, I heard my phone chirp again.

Well, we are mostly done now… just need to mix the wet with the dry and then cook the cake. Looks like Cullen is almost done with the caramel… I’ll go ahead and see what he wants now.

[16:09] What are you wearing tomorrow night, sweetie?

Leli ended the call with her girlfriend and then glanced at the counter. Looks like Kylara mixed up my eggs and buttermilk. So where did I leave off? Oh, right. She added the next ingredients and then glanced at the last one. Imitation whiskey? Eww! We don’t want to ruin a cake with that crap. She knelt down and plucked out several sample size bottles of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon Whiskey. Hmm, 136 Proof, which means 68% Alcohol. Aw, yes! That will definitely give the cake some kick! And look! Notes of oak, walnuts, caramel, and vanilla! Sounds perfect! After adding a good 120ml of the whiskey to her wet ingredients (more than twice what the recipe called for… because more booze = more fun, yes?), she thought, better give some of this good stuff to Cullen for his caramel sauce too.

Finally, I put my phone away again and approached the counter.

“All set to mix, Leli?”

“Yes! This cake will be so awesome! Your Alibear is going to love it!”

I prepped the greased and floured cake pans, then poured Leli’s wet ingredients over my dry. It was then I noticed the pungent smell of whiskey.

“Uh… Leli? Why do the wet ingredients reek of alcohol?”

“That imitation crud you bought from the supermarket won’t make a decent cake for your boyfriend! So I added the real stuff!” She grinned.

My eyes were watering. “Maker! How much, and what proof?!”

She showed me the small empty bottle. “136 proof! We won’t even have to eat this to get drunk! The fumes alone will- ”

“Tut-tut! The alcohol cooks off! It’ll be fine, Kylara!”

“Well… technically that is true… I suppose if this fails, we might have time to make another.”

I mixed the wet and dry together. At first, I thought there was too much liquid, but once I had finished, it looked to be the normal consistency of cake batter. However, pouring it into the two prepped pans I had soon revealed a problem. I had too much extra batter. “I thought this was to make two round cakes. Why do I have leftover batter?”

“Cullen?” Leli got his attention from his phone, where he’d been texting someone madly. “Any cake pans in your cupboards?”

“Hang on a sec…” He stashed his phone. “Cake pans? I think we have a rectangular one.” He opened and searched. “Here it is!” He handed me the pan.

“So now we have a rectangle and two circle cakes… my won’t this look professional,” I grumbled.

“But it isn’t. That’s the point! It is a homemade cake!” Leli said as she greased and floured the third pan. “It’ll be fine.” At the look on my face, she sighed. “If it bugs you that much, Kylara, we can cut circles from the rectangle. That’ll work, yes?”

I brightened. “You’re right, Leli! Why didn’t I think of that!”

“Because you’re too worried about impressing your loverboy?”

I punched her lightly on the arm. “I suppose so,” I replied jokingly.

After baking, we pulled all three cakes from the oven. As they cooled, the three of us sat around, talking about various things.

We ended up getting four rounds total – the two I had originally prepped, and two more cut from the large rectangle. The leftovers we passed out to the guys in the lobby of Cullen’s dorm. Since none of them spit it out, I took that as a good sign that the cake was fine.

Cullen drizzled his whiskey caramel sauce on top… and it looked fantastic!

After packing (and cleaning) everything up, there was nothing left to do until the party.

“Happy birthday, to our friend Alistaaiirr! Happy birthday, to yooooouuu!”

Alistair blew out the twenty-two candles on his cake and cheers erupted from the crowd of friends at the pub.

“Thank you, guys! This is fantastic!” He then pulled me into his embrace. “The cake looks great, love! You didn’t have to go to all this trouble for me… but thank you all the same.” He stole a quick kiss when the others weren’t looking, then out-loud said, “Well? Let’s eat!”

The cake was quickly sliced and then everyone waited while Alistair took the first bite. He chewed, then swallowed, then his eyes began to water. “Whew! That is strong!” he shouted. “There is a certain taste to it…” He paused to think, then exclaimed, “Whiskey! It’s chocolate caramel whiskey cake!”

I took the next bite and almost choked. Leli and Cullen both had poured enough alcohol in the cake and sauce to choke a mule! Even cooked, this is one pungent cake!

“Is it okay, Alistair?” I asked, worried. “Seems certain other people involved might have been a bit heavy-handed with the booze…” I said as I arched an eyebrow at Leliana. She just giggled and shrugged.

He leaned down and murmured in my ear, “It’s the thought that really counts, love. For that, you win some extra special bonus points from me tonight…”

Fenris, after watching the others take a bite or two of the cake and then set it down, finally took his own nibble.

“Hmm… not bad,” he grunted. “Could’ve used more whiskey though.”

Everyone stared at him, then burst out laughing!