#no wait my third request was cruise control

[florida3exclamationpoints]

My sister never beating the youngest child allegations

[fluentmoviequoter]

Celebrity Crush

Pairing: Tim Bradford x fem!reader

Summary: You have what some might consider to be an odd celebrity crush. Until you meet him in real life, that is. | 1.1k+ words of fluff!

Part 2: Celebrity Crush, Table for Two >

Masterlist | Tim Bradford Masterlist | Request Info/Fandom List

As you twirl your straw in your drink, you tune out the conversation of your friends. The message to get ready had come last minute, with only a few minutes to prepare for an outing before your best friend arrived to pick you up. You had been watching a true-crime documentary when the message came through, and rather than listen to your friends discuss their weekend plans, you think about the case in the show. Or, more specifically, one of the officers who worked the case.

“Hello,” one of your friends calls.

She draws the word out and waves a hand in front of your face, which you bat away when your attention returns to the restaurant and the people around you.

“Sorry,” you apologize. “What are we talking about?”

“Celebrity crushes!” she cheers. “Mine is Tom Cruise.”

“Gross! He’s old enough to be your dad,” another girl comments.

“And he can pay for everything like my dad, too.”

“Can we move on?” someone interrupts. “Who’s yours?”

“Mine?” you clarify, pointing at yourself. “Oh, uh, you probably haven’t heard of him.”

“C’mon, spill!” they encourage.

You shake your head, and the friend closest to you repeats, “Who’s your celebrity crush?”

“Tim Bradford,” you answer softly.

“Who?”

“He’s a cop, and he’s been in some documentaries. Like the ones with Corey Harris and Aaron Thorsen. Plus, a new one with doppelgangers,” you explain.

“So, he’s a cop, not a celebrity,” your best friend argues.

“He’s been on TV! More than once,” you point out.

“Girl, you know I love you, but that’s more of a ‘hear me out’ than a celebrity crush.”

You shake your head and sit back in your seat. The sooner you get home to finish the documentary, the better.

The next day, after you’ve finished the newest documentary and your crush on Tim Bradford has strengthened, you find yourself out shopping with your friends. Thankfully, they’ve moved on from the celebrity crush comment. While you’re in the third store of the day, you wait in the dressing rooms to rate your best friends’ choices while the other girls shop.

An employee approaches you with a nervous smile and asks if anyone else is in the fitting area.

“Yes, one of my friends is trying something on. Is everything okay?” you answer.

“Oh, of course. I don’t want to alarm you, but we’ve locked the doors because there are some suspicious characters in the area. The police are on the way, so everything will be under control soon.”

“Thanks for letting me know,” you say.

She sighs in relief that you were kind about the ordeal, then walks away to alert other customers. You look toward the large windows on the storefront but don’t see anything happening in the parking lot.

A few minutes later, after your friends have purchased their items and are waiting to leave, two police officers walk to the locked door and knock on it. The employee you spoke to earlier rushes to let them in and obeys when the male officer instructs her to lock the door again.

“Ladies, we’re with the LAPD,” the shorter man says. “Our colleagues are outside handling the situation as we speak. However, we need your help; if you’ve noticed anything out of the ordinary today, please meet me at the counter and we’ll fill out a report.”

The employees follow him to the counter, and you realize that he is in the documentaries you’ve been watching. As you turn to look outside again, you see the other officer.

“Are you Sergeant Tim Bradford?” you ask.

“Yes, ma’am,” he answers. “Can I help you with something?”

“Oh, no, I just watched the documentaries you were in and thought it was you. Your insight was informative; I liked listening to your side of the case.”

He smiles kindly and says, “I’m glad.”

You nod, then step back and look around the store. Unsure how much longer you’ll have to wait, you take a moment to look at the merchandise. You usually tag along on shopping trips but don’t buy anything. Your friends have different tastes than you, and an easier time buying things for themselves. One item catches your eye, and you run your finger over it. They have your preferred size, and you tap it a few times before you look away again.

Unknown to you, Tim watches you. He’s seen people come up to Aaron, Lucy, and even Nolan, and claim to have seen them on television. Those encounters usually end with someone asking for a picture, an autograph, and, once, to get their cousin released early. This is the first time he’s heard a genuine compliment, and he’s happy to have been the one you chose to give it to.

“Officer Bradford?” his partner calls. “A word?”

You smile at Tim when you look toward him, and with his eyes already on you, he notices immediately. He dips his chin as he walks past you, and you walk across the room to your friends.

“Wait, is that your celebrity crush?” your best friend whispers. “You didn’t say he was like… Abercrombie model hot!”

You shrug, and she turns to your other friends to talk about how attractive the officers are. Your gaze wanders back to the only thing in the store you’d ever consider buying, but you shake your head and look at Tim Bradford instead.

“The situation has been handled and the area is safe now. You’re free to go,” he announces. “Thank you for your help.”

Your friends rush out, eager to get to another store, but you walk toward the door at a normal pace. Tim and his partner are walking out too, and you hold the door for them.

“Go ahead,” Tim tells his partner. “Thanks,” he says to you.

He stops beside you, and you let the door close. After a glance over his shoulder, Tim passes you a bag.

“What is this?” you inquire.

“A thank you.”

“For?”

“Being nice. Plus, you didn’t ogle me like your friends.”

You chuckle and smile as you argue, “You’ve got to be used to that.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?”

You peek in the bag and see the item you were looking at. “I can’t accept this.”

“The ladies inside told me I had to take something for keeping them safe.”

“And you got me something?” Tim smiles, and you shake your head. “Thank you.”

“If you’d really like to thank me or hear more about those cases you seem to like so much, maybe we could meet for dinner sometime.”

“I would love that.”

“Great. I have to go, but… give me a call.”

You watch him leave, then realize that he didn’t give you his number. As you walk away, you pull the receipt from the bag. But it isn’t a receipt. It’s a piece of paper with his name and number. Under that, he wrote, I never wanted to be a celebrity crush before today.

[gadriezmannsgirl]

This was the other request that my dear, @mqsi passed me on and it says: Heyy, I have a request maybe were you take pedri/gavi to your native country and do all kind of things there. I'm from Amsterdam so like biking around (I think Gavi would fail🤣) and like fluffly things.

Truly sorry for the lateness of this, being honest I didn't know what to do with this one😭. This is a little blurb, btw

Also, this request got me imagining taking either Gavi or Pedri to🇻🇪 for vacations🤣 @gaviypedrisbride can you imagine? 🤣🤭🥴

Your World -P.G

Summary: You show Gavi the place you're from

°°° °°° °°° °°°

"C'mon, bebé" You said watching Gavi once more lose a bit of control with his bicycle "You can do it"

"I know I can" He said stopping making you stop as well "It's just this fucking bike that is not doing what I say" You suppressed laugh

"Your feet and hands are the ones telling what to do"

"And it doesn't cooperate!" This time you laughed leaning over to leave a kiss on his cheek giggling

"What about we do something else?" You tried to come up with another thing. Pablo and you were in your home, Amsterdam; he wanted to know your place, where you grew up when you were five and what did you do in the city that brought so many good memories from you and seeing as he got a week off he wanted to spend it there with you.

You were on your third day here, the first one spent on recovering from the jet lag and the other walking around the city when Pablo asked you for the usual stuffs you do there, so these next days were about that.

And everybody should know, in Amsterdam all you do is biking around, so that's how you ended up here.

"Eventually I have to get this" You nod

"You will. Just don't put too much preassure on you" You giggled

"What do we do then?" He asked sat on the bike's seat.

"We can go to Anne Frank's House Museum" He cut you off

"For that you need to have tickets, preciosa"

"Who says I don't?" You smiled winking at him "We can also go to the STRAAT Museum, which is a museum dedicated to graffiti and street art. We can do a canal cruise, eat something in Foodhallen..." You shrug your shoulders "You tell me what do you wanna do first, lindo" You looked at him

"How about we do all of that?" Your smile grew

"Great! That's perfect! I really hoped you said something among those lines because we have to be at Anne Frank's House Museum in the next hour and we're aproximatedly fourty-five minutes away"

"Why didn't you said that before?" He asked surprised

"I kinda forgot" You said slowly "It's really distratcing for me watching you fool around and act cute with the bike" You laugh

"My falls aren't cute" You keep on laughing whilst nodding your head

"They are and the pout you do makes me want to kiss you everytime" You smiled "We need to go so we can make it"

"Amor but the bikes aren't cooperating with me!" His eyebrows furrowed a bit "Also can you give me those kisses?" You rolled your eyes lightly smiling but still gave him a few pecks on his lips, the last kiss being the longest one

"Let's change these for a double seat one then"

"Wait, what?"

"Yes"

"No!"

...

"C'mon, Pabs... All you need to do is pedal, I'm gonna lead us. Please, don't make us fall"

"Please, don't say that" You laugh reaching behind to grab his hand.

"You can pay dinner for this, amorcito. Don't you worry" You said beggining your travel when you felt Pablo scream "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

...

"So, you liked today?" You ask smiling as he feed you a bit of his ice cream

"Those were so many stairs" You laughed

"Aren't you a football player? Don't you spent 90 minutes running around a pitch?"

"That's different!"

"How's that even different? You need resistence to manage the whole game and you couldn't climb a few stairs?"

"A few" He mumbled shaking his head as you laugh

"The rest was nice" He nodded "But I keep telling you, there was a big fish on that cruise"

"There aren't but if they are? You let them be"

"Not if they were going to attack me and my girlfriend!" You laugh at his silliness

"Do you like my place?" You ask for real this time as he nods

"It's truly beautiful and I can't wait to explore more of it and keep on coming back every chance we got" You smiled

"And you will learn how to bike, right?"

"I know how to!" Pablo exclaimed "It's just the bikes here are different from Spain's ones" You laughed

"That doesn't even make sense, Pabs. Bikes are bikes, all over the world"

"It doesn't matter, next time here I'll crush them" He looked at you leaning down to kiss you "But I really enjoyed the double one" You high five him

"I know you did"

°°° °°° °°° °°°

Taglist: @gaviypedrisbride @stuckinaf4nfiction @elijahslover @azzpenswrld

[fivelakesinwriting]

The Other Woman Part 3 (Ward Cameron)

Author's Notes: I honestly got carried away with this one again..But -Ward finally takes his lover out on his boat..

Warnings: Cheating, Drinking, Swearing, SMUT (*Choking, lil dom/sub), Unprotected sex - please be safe out there, it's your choice how!

Requested? Nope. Requests for OBX are OPEN!

*My work is not to be transferred, copied, translated or reposted to any other sites without my permission. Please see my masterlist for all other works and warnings. Thank you! xoxo

He set the boat at a slow cruise, letting the soft waves of the deep ocean hit them, rocking them softly. He moved from his position at the top of the boat, and down a level to where she laid in the sun.

"What kind of swimsuit is that?" He asked gruffly, but with a smile as his eyes scanned over her body stretched out.

"You don't like it?" She smirked with a wiggled of her backside in her stringed bikini.

"I think it's nice, but it's very small." Ward replied as he made his way to the bar to make himself a drink.

"Well, I was going to take it off so I didn't have tan lines, but if you don't like it.." She smiled as she stood up then made her way under the covered lounge area to stand next to him.

"I don't remember saying I didn't like it." Ward stated as he sipped at his Scotch, then turned to face his lover.

"Do you want to come lay in the sunshine with me?" She asked as she reached for the collar of his shirt, her fingertips crept for the buttons.

"I'm okay here." Ward nodded as he pressed a kiss to the side of her face. He really did just like being out on the water, hearing the waves. And he didn't mind watching his lover turn from side to side in her tiny suit, evening out her tan.

"Well, okay. But if you change your mind, I'll be the one who's naked at the front of your boat." She smiled as she pressed up on her toes, her arms around his neck.

"No tan lines, huh?" Ward asked, a hand running over his bearded face as he watched her backside wiggle when she walked back to her spot at the bow.

"Not one." She grinned as she reached for the ties of her bottoms and pulled. She raised her eyebrows at him as her bottoms fell to the deck of the boat.

"Come here." Ward ordered as he beckoned her over with a single finger. He watched his little lover untie her bikini top, then skip over to him, naked.

Ward took hold of her waist and pulled her onto his lap, her thighs on either side of his. He grabbed the aerosol can of sunscreen, shook it softly, then sprayed it over her neck and breasts. A smile on his face as her nipples pebbled for him.

"You should reapply if you're going to do that." Ward grinned as he sprayed her thighs, placed the can down, then placed his palms on her breasts to rub in the sunscreen.

"Ward." She whined as she reached for his belt, immaculately dressed, even for the boat. She hated how good he looked all the time.

"You look good on my boat." Ward muttered as his hands moved across her stomach and to her thighs, always smoothing in the sunscreen.

"I feel good on your boat." She breathed out as she ran her hands over his chest then reached for the buttons of his shirt.

"Good." Ward nodded , his hands reaching for her backside to pull her close.

"I'd feel better if you took her clothes off and got naked, too." She whispered as she unbuttoned his shirt then placed her hands on his torso.

Ward smiled as he shrugged out of his light blue button up, briefly removing his hands from his lover. He placed his hands on the small of her back again and let her run her hands down his chest.

"Did you miss me?" Ward questioned, a hand tugging at her loosely pulled back hair.

"Yes, Ward." She nodded while she pulled at the prongs of his belt, and he let her.

"I missed you, too." Ward admitted softly, with a lift of his hips to let her tug his slacks off.

"Tell me I'm better than she is, Ward. You love me more." She begged as she rolled her hips in lap.

"I love you so much. And there's no one like you." Ward replied with a heavy breath, his hands on her hips.

"I love you, too." She whispered as she wrapped her arms around his neck, then lifted her hips up for him.

Ward pressed his tip to her entrance, smiling as she whined out and dropped her forehead down to his shoulder. He gripped at her hips and guided her down on to him, pressing a kiss to the side of her face.

"Shit! Ward!" She whimpered while she ground her hips down on his. She scratched her nails across the fabric of the couch behind him as she sobbed into his neck.

"There's my girl." Ward grunted as he thrust upwards to fill her completely.

"More." She begged as she pulled her face from his neck, her forehead pressed to his.

"Turn around." Ward breathed out with a soft push of her shoulder.

She whimpered as she pulled herself off of him to turn her body around, sitting backwards on his lap with her back to his chest. Ward helped back down on top of him, spreading her thighs as he pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder.

"Oh, Ward." She moaned out at the position change, her hips rolling for him as she wrapped her arms around his neck behind her.

"That's my girl. So fucking tight." Ward growled into her shoulder as he gripped her hips, a futile attempt to keep her pace steady.

Ward took a hand off her hip and wrapped his strong arm around her waist, keeping her in one spot on his lap so he had the most control. He gave a firm thrust upwards to hit her g-spot, making her cry out his name.

"Please, Ward." She whispered as she bounced in his lap, her fingers brushed over his neatly cut hair.

"You have to wait for me." He mumbled into the back of her neck before he placed a soft kiss to her skin.

"I thought men your age didn't last long." She replied through gritted teeth while her nails pressed into the back of his neck, despite her efforts to not leave a mark on him.

Ward released a breathy laugh into the back of her neck as he unwrapped his arm from her waist and reached it up around her throat. He pressed on the sides of her neck just a little bit, his grin increasing as he felt her innermost walls flutter around him as she orgasmed.

"Poor girl. Missed me so much she couldn't wait. And what was that you said about men my age?" Ward smirked as he released his grip on her throat and thrust up into her still quivering core.

"Wa..Ward!" She gasped as she reached forward to claw at his knees, her second orgasm rocking through her body unexpectedly.

"Fuck! You feel so fucking good." Ward growled as he thrust up into her a few times at a rapid pace, and finished inside of her.

He grabbed hold of her elbows and pulled her back against his chest, his arms around her while he placed soft kisses along her shoulder.

"Ward." She whispered.

"Yes."

"You came inside of me. You never do that." She replied, a whisper still as she pulled him from inside of her so she could turn around and face him.

"There's no one like you." Ward smiled softly as he pushed a piece of stray hair behind her ear.

"Did you forget a condom?" She whispered in his ear as she pressed a kiss to it.

"Maybe that, too." Ward chuckled as he palmed at her bare backside.

"Once a reckless kid from The Cut, always a reckless kid." She replied a she wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands brushing over his hair.

Ward only smiled as his fingers danced across her skin, his eyes on her bare chest in front o him. He couldn't remember the last time he spent the day out on the boat, fucking a beautiful woman. He knew the woman she be his wife, but he would deal with that later.

Instead Ward lifted his lover up off his lap, laid her back on the plush leather couch of the boat and entered her again. He pressed a kiss to her collarbone as her fingers pressed into his scalp, her thighs around his waist as he fucked her slowly.

"Ward." She breathed out, her hands running over his hair as he created an even pace.

"Stella." He replied against her clavicle with a firm thrust to make her moan.

"I love you." She whispered as she wrapped herself around him, her hips lifting to meet his.

"I love you, too." Ward replied as he pressed his forehead to hers.

"Can I cum now?" She asked with a bite of her bottom lip.

"Honey, when did you get so sensitive?" Ward growled as he hooked his bicep under her knee and pinned it forward, making her scream with her third orgasm.

"Since I only get you once a week, if that. I get excited." She shivered as she grabbed at the couch cushions so she didn't scratch his back.

"Don't ever stop getting excited for me." Ward growled, then with a few deeps thrusts finished inside of her once again.

Hottie List (Still Open!!):

@starkey-babie @sodasback @fashion-fasting @barrysjumpsuit

Please let me know what you think if you have a moment! I'm thinking there will be a fourth chapter which will be the "end" and take us to the second season, pending people would want that.

Requests for OBX ARE OPEN!

[eagle-eyez]

The premise was perfect – 15 August, 2021 marking India’s 75th Independence Day, a homegrown start-up promising to supercharge the electric mobility revolution in the country, for a reservation amount of Rs 1,947 – not coincidental, but an undisguised nod to the year the country attained independence. As far as making an entry was concerned, Bengaluru-based EV start-up Simple Energy seemed to have timed things to perfection. Moreover, the highlights from the unveil made for eye-catching headlines – highest range for an e-scooter, biggest battery for an e-scooter, quickest-accelerating e-scooter; all this, for a price of Rs 1,09,999.

But while the story of a local, built-from-scratch product bettering all comers has immense potential, a series of errors from Simple Energy threatens to erode potential buyers’ confidence in the start-up.

The mystery of changing specifications

It’s clear from the outset that Simple Energy is banking on the attention-grabbing values of its first scooter – named the Simple One – to attract buyers. Performance, says Simple, is one of the key focus areas with the One, and that the e-scooter will have the acceleration to outrun its competition. In a tweet published on 9 July, Suhas Rajkumar – Founder and CEO of Simple Energy – mentioned 3.2 seconds, ostensibly referring to the Simple One's 0-40 kph acceleration time, which meant it was quicker than the Ather 450X.

A while before the unveil of the One got underway, the Simple Energy website was updated with a significantly improved 0-40 kph time of an impressive 3.05 seconds. This is also the figure supplied to journalists present at the unveil in the print brochure. However, at the showcase itself, Rajkumar mentioned the Simple One’s acceleration time was a mere 2.95 seconds.

While the difference of a tenth of a second may seem negligible, in this case, it does make a difference. Just a couple of hours before the Simple One was unveiled, Ola revealed its S1 Pro electric scooter, which has a claimed 0-40 kph acceleration time of three seconds flat. The Simple One’s 2.95-second claim lets it snag the title of the quickest accelerating scooter on sale in India. The Simple website was soon updated to reflect the newer figure post the unveil, which is from “recent data”, said Rajkumar in an interaction with Tech2.

Then there’s the matter of power output. Before the unveil of the One (and even for some time after it), the Simple website mentioned the e-scooter’s peak motor output being rated at 7 kW. However, at the unveil event, Rajkumar said the Simple One’s peak motor output was a significantly higher 8.5 kW. For perspective, the Ola S1, just a couple of hours before the One was unveiled, also debuted with a peak motor output of 8.5 kW. Speaking to Tech2, Rajkumar put this anomaly down to a “typo mistake” made by “a third party”.

Other anomalies included the size of the rear disc brake (mentioned as a 190 mm unit at the unveil but later revised to 180 mm; the same size as the Ola S1) and Rajkumar’s claim at the unveil of the One having the “best-in-class” under-seat storage space, which is, in fact, incorrect, as the Ola S1’s 36-litre storage bay is larger than the One’s 30-litre space.

Identity crisis

The Simple One showcased on 15 August was a pre-production prototype, and was only running a preview version of the software buyers will see on the finished model. However, the 7.0-inch screen of the scooter at the showcase displayed the vehicle identification number (VIN) and registration number of an Ather 450X – among the Simple One’s key rivals – sold and registered earlier this year. Rajkumar attributes this, too, to a “technical glitch”, a mistake not warranting a second look. However, it didn’t look like this error was addressed quickly, as it was seen in multiple walkaround videos of the scooter.

A shift in statements

At the unveil of the One, the indication made to journalists in attendance was that deliveries of the scooter would begin by October or November. However, Simple Energy’s production facility in Hosur – previewed in a tweet at the start of August – is far from ready, and is a good while away from being operationalised. Rajkumar now says Simple is aiming to begin production towards the end of this year, which means those who have pre-booked the scooter can only expect deliveries early in 2022.

The scooter itself doesn’t seem fully ready yet. Simple says it is putting the final touches on the One, but Tech2 has learned from journalists in attendance that the scooter ran into technical issues at the very start of the media rides held the day following the unveil. Invited media was requested to not file reviews of the pre-production model or compare it to existing electric scooters, and this is why the media – despite having the One and a go-kart track to themselves – did not file any first ride review/experiential pieces.

Ola Electric introduced cruise control on its S1 Pro electric scooter, and while it is certainly not a necessity for a two-wheeler, buyers have been keen to know if the Simple – which claims to match or better the Ola on most fronts – has it, too. Many have been thrilled to find out the Simple One does have cruise control, something Rajkumar has also previously confirmed on Twitter in response to customer enquiries. However, Rajkumar now says what the One has is “not exactly” cruise control, and is unsure if the finished product will even offer something similar to it, as he believes customers won’t find much use for it.

“It is not exactly a cruise control. It is a mix of things, which is not really a very highlighting point for us. It’s just a feature there. It’s not going to be a selling point for us, something that I don’t think customers would even like to use. If it’s there or not there I can’t confirm because we’re working on the OTA update for that. Not sure if we’ll be involving that but we’re working on it. I have to consult my team”, says Rajkumar, when pressed on the topic of cruise control availability on the One.

Tweet, delete, repeat

Rajkumar has been quite active on social networking platform Twitter in the build-up to the unveil of the Simple One, dishing out info on his firm’s maiden product and throwing thinly-veiled jabs at competition. This means that those interested in the Simple One have been keeping a close eye on his updates, but the intense scrutiny leaves no room for error. Rajkumar promised an announcement late on 18 August, but later rescheduled it for 6 pm on 19 August and deleted the first tweet. The second tweet was perceived by many as being the date for the full-fledged, detailed launch announcement, when it was, in fact, just a date reveal, and Rajkumar ended up deleting that tweet later, too.

As promised, Rajkumar did share a tweet post 6 pm on 19 August, mentioning a ‘mid of September’ announcement of vital details of the Simple One. This tweet, too, was subsequently deleted.

The tweet that aimed to answer buyer queries about the battery and vehicle warranty for the Simple One elicited a backlash from several followers. Simple offers a three-year vehicle and battery warranty on the One, which is the same as what Ather Energy offers with the 450X, and falls well short of the eight-year battery warranty offered by Revolt Motors for the RV400 electric motorcycle.

Bengaluru resident Rahul Prasadh was among many enthusiasts fascinated by the Simple One. A motorcyclist at heart, Prasadh has been wanting to make the shift to an electric two-wheeler himself, and was impressed by the One’s specs, so much so that he asked his spouse and sibling to book the Simple e-scooter, but says they have now mailed the company to request cancellation of the orders and a full refund of the booking amount following constant changes in the company’s statements.

“I really want to support an Indian company, but I got irritated by the inconsistency of the tweets. He [Rajkumar] said everything is on the website, but the website only has the most basic details. Why should a customer have to ask about the product – shouldn’t you have a brochure with all the details and specs on your website? The words he has chosen have not gone down well. All these things are putting a negative perspective in the customer’s mind”, says Prasadh.

Having recently parted with his Mahindra Mojo, Prasadh is now keen to get his hands on the Ola S1, and isn’t closed to the idea of revisiting the Simple One – but says he’d now like to take some more time and see how things pan out for Simple Energy.

“I wouldn’t mind buying a Simple, but I’d take some more time. Wait, watch, see initial customers’ observations, maybe get it by June next year. The product is impressive by the looks of it, but the communication part is where they’ve lagged a lot. Some people have even said it seems like another Freedom 251 scam, which is a very bad thing and something that shouldn’t happen to a new company”, he adds.

There is no denying the potential of an electric scooter like the Simple One, but the targeted start of production appears to be ambitious at this stage, given the stark on-ground realities. As they press forward with their plans, Rajkumar and his team will have to tidy up and ensure no more communication blunders occur, or they may simply risk losing swathes of potential customers to two-wheeler brands perceived as more reliable and trustworthy.

source https://www.firstpost.com/tech/auto-tech/the-unbearable-complexity-of-being-simple-glitches-confusion-mar-start-ups-electric-scooter-launch-9905901.html

[cardamomoespeciado]

`` Tokyo Olympics held a year later '' Invisible from the sweet idea `` Yaba too reality ''

4/11 (Sat.) 6:01

Modern business

Can next year's Olympics be realized?

`` Tokyo Olympics held a year later '' Invisible from the sweet idea `` Yaba too reality ''

Photo: Contemporary business

It has been officially decided that the Tokyo Olympics will be postponed from July 23 to August 8 next year.

Until this decision was taken, Prime Minister Abe emphasized "holding", and many said, "I can't hold it any longer so I should postpone it sooner."

[Photo] What to do before the new corona "mask wear"

However, if Prime Minister Abe mentioned "postponement" or "cancellation", it might have been that fortunately that "all responsibility was imposed on Japan".

し I think it is worthwhile to patience until the players groups in major nations request the IOC to postpone the postponement, and to take the timely decision to postpone the postponement at the right time.

For example, acceptance of the luxury cruise ship Diamond Princess. After accepting the ship, which had nowhere to go and was in trouble, he responded with all his might and said, "Not responding," and not only Japan but also old media abroad.

In addition, the heads of state in the United Kingdom, the flag state, and the US, the cruise ship operator, decided to pretend to be aware (although Prime Minister Johnson thanked him a long time ago ...).

Compared to the other countries' response to other cruise ships since then, it is clear that Japan's response was excellent.

The international community is not a group of respectable people. Rather, it can be said that it is less exciting than Japanese society. So far, Japan's response to the Olympic Games issue has been largely correct, but postponing the event next year may cause new problems. There are three important points:

1. Will the epidemic of Wuhan pneumonia end long enough before July 23, 2021? 2. what is not performed outrage that excuse to Xi Jinping state guest visiting the Olympic Games? 3. Will the Tokyo Olympics be the cause of the Wuhan pneumonia re-emergence?

.

Even if only Japan solves the problem ...

First is 1. The situation of Wuhan pneumonia infection in Japan is unpredictable, including the debate on the blockade of Tokyo. However, I think Japan is doing well with the handicap, which was initially delayed by restricting entry from Communist China.

This is because, since ancient times, death has been regarded as `` dirty '' to prevent infection from the corpse, bathing every day (it is commonplace for Japanese, but not in Europe etc.), or when visiting shrines, It can be said that anti-infective measures from ancient times, which can be said to have been engraved in DNA, such as purifying with hand water, were effective. The height of the concept of hygiene among Japanese people is as described in the “New Year's Corona Tragedy,“ I want to scream because of the new corona tragedy ”and“ Hello, Recycling Society ”.

Of course, we can't be careful yet, but considering Japan alone, it is unlikely that the infection will settle before the Olympics.

However, the problem of the Wuhan virus this time can be summed up in that nobody in the world was immune. No one had the immunity, and the infection spread explosively. To make matters worse, there have been reports of cases in which Wuhan pneumonia has recurred in people who had once recovered and gained immunity.

While the facts need to be examined in more detail, some reports that HIV drugs may be effective in Wuhan pneumonia may need to be considered more.

HIV infects T cells (CD4-positive lymphocyte cells), the control tower of the immune system, causing immunodeficiency.

If the "new" (and even more mutated) virus attacks the immune system, like HIV, the symptoms of older people with weakened immune systems can become severe and lead to death It can be understood that there are many cases.

Further research is needed to confirm the facts, but if most people do not have immunity and attack the immune system, it is a rather troublesome virus.

It is impossible to hold if the world's problems are not over

し て も Even if Japan's problems are solved, the Olympics cannot be held only in Japan. Unless the virus epidemic is over in countries around the world, players will not be able to come to Japan.

Looking at infections in countries such as the United States and Europe, it is extremely unlikely that Wuhan pneumonia will be declared dead in most countries around the world well before July 23, next year. It is said that the decision was postponed, so the Olympics must be declared dead at least at the beginning of next year in each country, but that seems unrealistic.

Furthermore, even if the increase in the number of infected people has significantly decreased, the declaration of termination should not be made easily. As mentioned in the aforementioned `` I want to cry because of the new corona tragedy now, 'Society' and 'Recycling Society', '' the Ebola hemorrhagic fever was first confirmed in 1976, and is also said to be a model of the 1995 U.S. movie `` Outbreak '' Did not end to date until now, and re-emergence occurred last year, with WHO marking July as a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)."

Fortunately (unhappy for Africans ...) unlike the Wuhan virus, which was spread around the world by the concealment of the Chinese Communist Party. At present, there is little interest in Japan due to the limited transmission within the African continent. But the United States considers it important to contain it in Africa and spares no help. Still, WHO declared an emergency.

It is difficult to predict how Wuhan Pneumonia, which has become a global pandemic, will re-emerge. Therefore, politicians in each country will be hesitant to announce such an end-of-life statement. If the epidemic reappears after the declaration of end, political life will be cut off.

Furthermore, even if the virus epidemic subsides in each country, travel restrictions and immigration restrictions should continue for a long time, as the influx of foreigners will be nervous.

If the movement of international people remains severely restricted, hosting the Olympics is impractical.

Xi Jinping state guest problem?

2 is a problem that because of the Olympics is "Xi Jinping's state guest visit to Japan" is Mushikaesa. Xi Jinping said, the first time visited the Wuhan City after the Wuhan pneumonia epidemic on March 10, in the country a lot of citizens are combined in a terrible eyes and put out the (mouth in my mind and "I came what was by now." Shouted)

However, such behavior of the Chinese people does not exist, remarks similar to the declaration of end have been repeated, and it is presumed that preaching to Europe and other countries where damage is expanding is `` sloppy ''. .

On the other hand, it is natural that the United States, which had been angry at the violation of the human rights by the Chinese Communist Party in Uyghur and Tibet, was angry as "Omayu remarks". The fact that Secretary of State Mike Ponzeo emphasized on the official occasion that "this is just 'Wuhan virus'" is also an assertion to clarify "fire liability." "I'm pretending to be a fireman, but now I'm pretending to be a fireman," said young Asian research scholar Michael Sobolik.

Sobolik's words seem radical to Japanese, but despite the unanimity of human rights bills against China that are successively passed by the U.S. Congress, `` Communist China is the enemy of mankind. '' Is a common perception of the American people.

中 で In such a four-sided song, Japan, where the Diet, bureaucrats, government offices and even the old media are dominated by middle-aged people, is Japan's last stronghold.

Xi Jinping's visit to Japan is supposed to be postponed to the autumn, but this is a "gracious refuse" If the Japanese sense. However, it is possible that China, which has been abandoned by developed countries around the world, aside from gold-powered nations, is forcing to say, "It was autumn."

Xi Jinping state guest invitation "Wuhan pneumonia termination, the fire source responsibility exemption" for Mr.'s best chance of appeal. If we welcome the "enemy of humanity" just because the Olympics are scheduled for next year, Japan could be shut out from all over the world.

Will the Olympics trigger a tragedy?

If you are lucky enough to have all the conditions and you can start the event on July 23 next year, be careful. Problem three.

た Although the danger of a re-epidemic has already been mentioned, there is a good chance that Wuhan pneumonia will re-emerge due to the gathering of people from around the world at the Tokyo Olympics.

Even if Japan strives for world peace and organizes the Olympics, if the pandemic occurs again as a result, the world will be blamed forever.

One of the diamond princesses mentioned at the beginning is symbolic. It is safer to think that international public opinion is the shit of selfish people.

Of course, as already mentioned, if you postpone rescheduling or cancellation from Japan, all responsibility will be imposed, so it is necessary to wait for the rise of international public opinion and make difficult things such as making suggestions from players and other related parties.

The first Tokyo Olympics were actually scheduled to take place in 1940 (September 21 to October 6). The next Olympics is the third time since the Tokyo Olympics, which ended in a vision due to World War II, but will it end in a vision again?

Japan and the world experienced the war until 1945 after the 1940 Olympics were canceled. However, whether or not the Olympics were canceled (or rather held) ... I feel like I will be in a harsh environment for about a year.

Although it is a coincidence, it seems scary for the Tokyo Olympics to become a keyword again.

The Wuhan Pneumonia Shock is not just a financial crisis like the Lehman Shock, and I agree with Hiroshi Arichi, the representative of the Institute for Human Economics Sciences, where I am the executing partner (`` The new Corona Shock is the Lehman Shock. However, when talking about the future of Japan and society, "dramatic changes in the economic and social structure itself" should be taken into account.

Personally, even the hosting of the Paris Olympics in 2024 and the Osaka Expo in 2025 is at stake.

[playchoices]

Rules of Engagement: Book 3

Inside Choices is a behind-the-scenes blog from the Pixelberry Team!

Since it launched last fall, Rules of Engagement has been going full steam ahead. Now on its third book, the trilogy is settling the question of your nana's inheritance, once and for all. Will true love prevail? Are you headed for married bliss or total disaster? And can your siblings figure things out in time? All will be answered in the upcoming Rules of Engagement chapters!

A chat with the Rules of Engagement writers has been long past due, so here they are! To get a behind-the-scenes peek at Rules of Engagement, read on...

I remember the feeling of excitement in the air when Rules of Engagement was being brainstormed as the first book to follow up the initial three in Choices. How did you come up with Rules of Engagement? Where did you want to go with it?

Kara: I was still working on TC&TF, which was a trilogy, so it felt right to think of this one as a trilogy too. With how big the cast was, I think it would've been hard to do justice to all of the characters and plots that we had planned in a shorter amount of time. We knew we wanted to get another book out fast, so we didn't have too much time going into it. We brainstormed each sibling's plot separately, which was a lot of world building, but we were really happy with how different each story came out. We knew we wanted Rules to have more crazy twists and drama than the other books, so it was really fun trying to come up with those, but mostly I just fell in love with all of the characters and telling all of their stories.

Jennifer: I remember when we were first brainstorming, one of the themes we wanted to touch upon was the theme of family. That's why the siblings are so close, and I think the idea of keeping the family together was what inspired all of Nana's zany requests. Even though Nana's will seems pushy, I always thought, at the heart of it, what she wanted most was to see everyone happy which is why the tasks push them to making such drastic changes in their lives.

Coco: I didn't join the Rules team until later on in Book 1, but I know they wanted to create a book that enabled players to travel often and see new places! Because cruise ships are so mobile, the Ember of the Sea was an ideal setting. I have an uncle that worked briefly as a pianist on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, so I drew a little bit from my experience when I visited him! Getting to write about travel adventures was one of the aspects that excited me the most, and I can't wait to show the different places we'll go next!

What's new about Book 3? How do you think the series has changed?

Coco: In Book 3, players get to plan different aspects of their wedding from the vows to the decorations! The finale will be fun either way, but the art and events change depending on your choices, and our artists did a great job. I hope this gives a more customizable and personal feel to your wedding day!

We also reveal a bit more about the backstory of the family members, particularly your aunt and your cousin. In particular, how you choose to treat your cousin will affect your playthrough and ending of the series. I have something of a soft spot for cousin -- she's so snarky and fun to write, but she's also been through a lot. I'm looking forward to developing these characters more and revealing new dimensions to them.

Since this is Rules of Engagement, we've gotta talk romance. Who would you date in Rules of Engagement?

Ariel: Actually, the Rules of Engagement writers each have a different favorite suitor. There's no lack of love for any of our leading lady's prospective fiances! We often joke about which writer is the leader of their favorite guy's fan club and who's the hottie of the Ember of the Sea, but at the end of the day, each suitor has their own strengths designed to make us swoon. The businessman appeals to those who want to get swept off their feet and enjoy grand gestures, while the prince is perfect for anyone who loves adventure and being spontaneous, and last but not least, the bartender speaks to those who desire that confidante who always knows how to make them laugh.

Coco: Ariel came up with a very diplomatic answer, but don't be fooled! She's Team Bartender all the way! :P I have to agree with her; I think falling in love with your best friend sounds like the ideal. However, I think the prince is the most fun to write because he's the most rebellious.

Jennifer: I originally wrote for and have a soft spot for the businessman. But if I could personally date anyone in Rules, it would be the older brother, Alex, because I always find his chapters hilarious.

Aside from the cruise and the massive inheritance, a good chunk of Rules of Engagement ties into real life. There's the ups and downs of dating, figuring out your future and identity, being there for your family... How do you relate to the story? And how does that influence your writing?

Kara: Rules has always been close to my heart because I was able to put a lot of my own family experience into the story. I'm the youngest of four, with an older brother and two older sisters--I guess maybe that makes me the Jess? Also, like the Rules siblings, I'm biracial, though I'm half Chinese and they're half Filipino Chinese. Growing up in a big family, I've always loved sibling dynamics and how each person can be related and have these shared experiences of childhood, but also have their own personality that they bring to the table. I think what I like most about Rules is that the siblings all love and support each other so much. That's what I've always loved about my own family. We're each off doing our own things in life, but deep down, we're a team and we always have each other's backs. I really wanted the Rules siblings to have that same feel.

Jennifer: I relate to the story on many levels which is why it's so near and dear to my heart. Having a close family is a big one like Kara was saying. My nuclear family isn't that big, but I grew up with my sister and my cousins, so it felt that way. That made it super fun to write the sibling scenes, particularly the ones where you get dressed with your sisters or stay up late to giggle in your room talking about life (and boys). Another big one is that my own family is Chinese but grew up in the Philippines, so the blend of those two cultures was something we decided to put into the family's background. And of course, I drew on my own experience dating (eep!) when it came to capturing the excitement of meeting someone for the first time and realizing you're falling in love as well as portraying the doubts and thoughts that crop up as you're discovering who you are in that relationship and how you relate to the other person.

A key part of the whole inheritance task deal is that each sibling has to learn something - whether its responsibility, spontaneity, or discovering true love. Which of Nana's lessons speak to you the most?

Coco: I think I'm somewhere halfway between the twins Jess and Nicole (perhaps most people are?), so I'm not sure that either of their tasks fits me perfectly. But I think all of the inheritance tasks were their nana's way of guiding the cousins along to the future in the best way she knew how. As a 20-something who recently graduated college (ugh, a millenial, I know), I can definitely relate to them in terms of trying to figure out my next step and where to go from here. I feel like the summer tasks give the cousins a chance to experiment and explore, whether it's with careers, love, adventure, or independence, as well as learn that these don't all have to be mutually exclusive.

Jennifer: Of all the siblings, I'm the most like Nicole in that, when I was younger, I wanted ultimate control of my life. In college, I had a very detailed plan to become a doctor and save the world, so I think it's funny that I became a writer for Pixelberry. Of course, writing was such a big part of my life growing up--I started when I was six and kept writing throughout high school. I'm surprised I didn't embrace that side of myself earlier, but I think I was a little afraid since so much of writing is putting yourself out there. I guess what I learned and tried to put into the Nicole arc is that life throws you so many curveballs, that some spontaneity and a little bit of courage is necessary for you to figure out what you want most and to go for it.

What do we have to look forward to with the rest of Book 3? What are you most excited about?

Jennifer: Planning your wedding! =) Also, I hope people enjoy the conclusion as much as we enjoyed brainstorming it. There's something very satisfying about tying up loose ends.

Coco: There's plenty to look forward to, like new ports to visit, new outfits, new characters, new animations, and also a few new romances for the supporting characters! In the first two books, we wanted to give you more of an opportunity to go on different dates and have fun, but in Book 3, you'll hopefully get to know your special, chosen fiancé on a deeper level. I'm probably most excited about bachelorette/bachelor party shenanigans, but also a few things that I can't quite share with you yet! ;)

As we reach the conclusion of the series, thanks to everyone who has been traveling on the cruise ship with us, from the several writers who have moved on to new projects, and of course, to the players! We hope you've had fun escaping to the Mediterranean with us.

Be sure to check back Wednesdays for new chapters of Rules of Engagement: Book 3! Where do you think the cruise will go next?

-Jessica

[nivalvixen]

Framed, pt 3

Also on AO3

Stiles had a day of tactical driving which ended up being more monotonous than he'd expected. He was used to Roscoe's heavy handling, so being in a far smaller automatic car with all-wheel drive, cruise control, and a reverse camera was a little daunting.

Who needed a camera to reverse, anyway?

After his first drive, knocking over every single traffic cone in sight, his instructor spent a good five minutes yelling at Stiles. The man butchered the pronunciation of his first name but Stiles didn't want the evil man to have the honour of using his nickname anyway.

When it was his turn again, Stiles sat behind the wheel and imagined the traffic cones were baby werewolf cubs. He came to an abrupt stop next to his peers and instructors, the former with their jaws open in surprise at his sudden ability to avoid the cones.

"Not bad, Stilinski, but you can do better!"

Stiles' eyebrows shot up at that; he hadn't missed a single cone and his time was mere seconds from his peers who had hit the cones. He was tempted to do the course in reverse, just to prove that he fucking could and his instructor was an asshole, but Stiles forcefully reminded himself that if he fucked up here, he wouldn't get any further with Derek's case.

The thought made him feel sick to his stomach; if Stiles wasn't at the FBI, he wouldn't be able to solve the case, his peers would hunt Derek down, he'd probably end up in prison, and then Stiles would end up becoming an accomplice and going on the run because there was no way he was letting Derek rot away in prison. The martyr would probably think he'd deserved it, even though he hadn't deserved anything life had thrown at him. Sometimes literally.

"Focus on what matters, Stilinski," he muttered to himself, getting out of the car so the next person could get behind the wheel.

...

Again, at lunch, Agent McAsshole came to their table to talk to the recruits. One of Stiles' peers mentioned how he'd been the first to pass the intensive driving, and Rafe looked straight at him for the first time in ten minutes.

"Congratulations, Mr. Stilinski. I'm sure your family and friends would be very pleased to hear that you're doing well here," Rafe said, the words far too nice and his eyes sharp.

Stiles clenched his jaw and couldn't bring himself to reply; not without his usual sarcasm, not without wanting to hurt the man who'd hurt Scott.

"How are you all enjoying the case so far? I could request a different case, if you'd like?" Rafe asked, looking between the recruits.

Stiles heard the threat in his question and under the table his hands clenched into tight fists. What the hell did he want? Everyone wanted something, and Rafe obviously wanted something from Stiles or else he'd take the case - Derek's case - away from him. A hundred possibilities ran through his mind; Stiles was pretty certain that if McCallous didn't want him at the FBI, then he wouldn't be there. Stiles thought back to their last encounter, to Scott's last encounter with his father, and he suddenly knew what the man wanted.

"My best friend is going to UC Davis," Stiles blurted out.

Rafe relaxed. It wasn't obvious to everyone at the table as Stiles' peers were looking at him like he was crazy - why would Agent Rafe McCall care about his best friend?! - but Stiles, who had spent a summer watching Derek Hale for the slightest bit of emotion, the way a tilt or raising of his eyebrows could convey entire sentences, saw Rafe's shoulders lose a hint of tension, the twitch of a smile at his mouth. He was right.

"I'm sure his parents are very proud," Rafe said, again with words that seemed simple and nice, but conveying another message for those who knew where to look.

Stiles had received 99% on his accuracy test (he lost a percent for writing a paragraph that detailed the history of one of the ink blot tests; they were lucky it was only a paragraph), so he knew exactly where to look.

Agent McNutsack wanted Stiles to be a messenger boy to Scott since he couldn't get the balls to do it himself, and to make sure he complied, he was using Derek as leverage.

Stiles nodded, his jaw clenched, and ignored the agent for the rest of the lunch break.

...

"You spoke to my dad? Willingly?" Scott asked, surprised.

"Yeah, he's currently at Quantico, heading up his own division; it's surprisingly difficult to avoid him," Stiles muttered, rolling his eyes. "He's proud of you for going to UC Davis," he added, pulling a face.

"He is?" Scott asked with a smile.

"Yeah. About that, he's basically bribing me to provide info on you so I can keep working on Derek's case. Can I feed him a bit of random crap until he gets the balls to talk to you again?"

"What's Derek's case?"

"Oh. Uh, he's being framed for mass murder. It's a total set up 'cause he was either in BH for most of it, de-aged by Kate, or fighting the Nogitsune."

Scott took a moment to breathe before he answered, both of them silent at the memory of the Nogitsune, of Allison, of the darkness still inside them. "Tell him whatever you want. Just... no embarrassing stories from primary school, okay?"

Stiles snorted. "I'd be embarrassing myself right there along with you, so no problem, Scotty. Now; when were you going to tell me what was going down? There was an attack at the station, Parrish got hurt, what else aren't you telling me?"

Scott winced; he'd forgotten to talk to the Sheriff about not telling Stiles what had happened. "Wait. You're not coming back to deal with this?"

"Dude, I'm stuck with the FBI for four months; if I leave now with no warning, I'll never get this chance again. But I'll help as much as I can from here, I promise. Now, spill every detail," Stiles said, pulling out his notebook and eyeing the opposite wall as a new board.

He didn't really need to hang his clothes up, did he?

Scott was still a little surprised, but he dutifully relayed everything he remembered. Then he called Lydia to add her input to the call. She was re-packing Malia's suitcase for France, who had decided to go rat hunting with Liam and Mason in some of her nicer clothes.

"You weren't going to tell me, Lyds?" Stiles asked, sounding more hurt than he'd intended.

"I don't want to lose you again. I refuse to lose any more best friends," Lydia replied, her stern voice slipping and breaking at the end.

There was a long moment of silence.

"I'm your best friend?" Stiles asked, grinning.

"If you have to ask -"

"Nope, I'm good. I'm your best friend. Huh, cool. Hey, is there like, a legal limit of how many best friends you can have?"

"Stiles, you're at the FBI now, you're a grown adult, please act like one," Lydia said, rolling her eyes.

"Ha, no chance of that! You knew what you signed up for, bestie," Stiles teased, grinning.

Lydia made a noise that sounded as though she regretted every decision she'd ever made in her life.

"Can we, uh, get back to the hellhound terrorising town?" Scott asked.

"Sure thing, Scotty. Parrish said the hellhound's hunting for something or someone, didn't he? Can you just ask him what it is?"

"What?" Scott and Lydia said at the same time.

"Y'know, be an adult and actually ask the hellhound who or what they're looking for? Within a safe distance, of course."

"What exactly is a safe distance when a hellhound is concerned? Mountain ash doesn't work on them. Or me, remember?" Scott pointed out.

"Oh, yeah, I know. I think I've got a spell for that, actually. Well, it's in one of Deaton's books that I might or might not have illegally copied..." Stiles added, trailing off with a cough. He opened a file on his laptop that was hidden away, password protected, and encrypted. Even his porn folder had less protection. "It's a spell to keep both parties stuck in their separate areas, and it lasts for a good two hours or something, so be careful with it," Stiles added. "Also, check with Deaton in case there's another spell that can let you out before the hellhound or something. I don't want to modify it and get you stuck somewhere for two weeks or something."

"This is surprisingly mature of you, Stiles. I'm very proud," Lydia said, teasingly.

"Good. Don't tell anyone," Stiles said with a laugh. "Okay, there; I've sent the spell to both of you. Let me know how it goes, yeah? And stop keeping secrets from me, dammit," he added.

"Sorry, buddy," Scott said, wincing.

"Sorry, Stiles. We only hid it because we were worried you'd come back," Lydia said.

"Yeah, I know. I'd probably do the same thing if you were here and I was there," Stiles said, knowing it for the truth. "I've gotta study for tomorrow. We're working on Derek's case again."

"Hey, say hi to my dad for me? Y'know, if you can. He didn't exactly leave his number when he left last time," Scott said.

"Sure thing, Scotty; that won't be awkward," Stiles muttered. "Let me know what happens with the hellhound, okay?"

Both Scott and Lydia agreed, then said goodbye and hung up. Stiles set his phone down, sighing heavily before moving the wardrobe out of his way.

...

End of the third chapter.

Next parts: four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Sixth Christmas

the series is as follows so far:

First … Second … Third … Fourth … Fifth … Fifth Christmas, Part 2 … Sixth … Seventh … Eighth … Ninth … Tenth … Eleventh … Twelfth … Thirteenth … Fourteenth … Fifteenth … Sixteenth … Seventeenth … Eighteenth … Nineteenth … Twentieth … Twenty-first … Twenty-second … Twenty-third

———————–

After the monster that was Rob Roberts, they ended up with a layover in Chicago. Mulder looked out the window at the waiting area, decided he wanted to see Chicago and turned to Scully, suggesting they should stay there, check out the wonders of the Christmas season in the Windy City.

She’d only said they’d better do it on their dime and not the FBI’s. He’d agreed wholeheartedly, given he really didn’t want to have to explain to accounting why he had a room with a Jacuzzi tub and had raided the mini-bar within an inch of its life.

It was a medium-sized nightmare to get their luggage off the plane but between two badges, authoritative voices and a wee bit of lying, they were soon in a hastily rented compact car, Mulder with his knees up around his ears as he tried to drive. She’d offered to drive but he turned her down, saying this was his idea, he’d deal with the unfamiliar city and heinous traffic.

While they waited for their luggage, Mulder had cruised the shops of the concourse, then asked two separate security guards and an on-break ticket agent about hotels and returned soon enough with a destination, directions and the keys to their car.

Scully nearly protested when he told her he’d found a place but when he flashed her his gold credit card and said it was his treat, she stopped worrying. Mulder may have a penchant for flea-infested nightmares when it came to the government’s dime but when he shopped for himself, he usually went classier than Tom and Bob’s Trave-Lodge.

Traffic wasn’t the total nightmare she’d been expecting. It was far worse but given all she had to do was look out the window and enjoy the views, she began relaxing while Mulder quietly wished death upon all those that drove in his way.

Her first grinding halt occured when she saw where they were staying had the hotel name on the front glass doors … and an honest-to-God man, in uniform no less, opening that door for them, greeting them with a hat tilt and a smile. He had to gently nudge her to get her moving through the door.

Her second grinding halt, which caused him to run directly into her, happened when a young man of no more than 20 scurried over and took her bag, including her satchel, as Mulder liked to refer to it and she argued every time that it was a handbag.

Her third and final grinding halt came when the bill slid across the smoother the glass mahogany check-in desk, the fleeting number of $548 meeting her wide-eyed gaze before disappearing discreetly under Mulder’s hand as he easily scrawled his name across the bottom. Whispering in her ear, “I like that I can still surprise you,” he put his hand to her elbow and turned her from the desk to the elevator.

She didn’t even seem to notice the woman standing inside, pushing the button for the 15 floor for them and he leaned over, grinning, “not gonna comment on the elevator lady?”

“Still processing it has more than two floors and needs an elevator.”

His smile continued as he got them in the room, Scully taking a minute to register that he didn’t let her in her own room. About to ask, he beat her to it, “so I got the jacuzzi suite which has a full size pull out sofa as well as a king-size bed. Figured I could take one and you could take the other and we could share the tub.”

There was a hot flash of muscle-twinging anticipation that shot through her before she got things under control, turning to him with a cool exterior that he saw right through, “you should have told me to pack a bathing suit.”

“We’re about two blocks of the main strip. I think we can find you one if need be.” The ‘need be’ hung there between Mulder’s grin and her raised eyebrow. Finally, he started towards her, smile widening, “want to go shopping now or should we jump right in?”

Finally, her face began heating, her cheeks first, then the slow creep of it over her scalp, across her ears and down her neck, “I’m leaning towards the shopping part.”

Coming in closer, “does that mean you could be properly persuaded to lean the other way?”

“Shopping, Mulder. Let’s go shopping.”

&&&&&&&

She’d been to Chicago before but only driven through, always on her way to somewhere else. Looking around, she ignored the frigid wind blowing through her inadequate coat, given they’d just flown in from L.A., and savored the lights, the people, the sheer envelopment of a city in a holiday that made the human race seem just a little nicer, a little calmer, a little better.

While Mulder grumbled because he got whacked in the back with a stranger’s gift of golf clubs.

Winding her arm through his, she lay her head on his jacket-encased bicep briefly as she smiled, “glad you stayed in Chicago still?”

“I’ll be better once we find you a bathing suit and that guy gets his clubs home in one piece without trying to kill anyone else.” She then felt him pull her a little closer, “cold?”

“Freezing but I don’t mind … not yet anyway.” With a glance upwards at the store they were walking past, he pulled her inside, bought her a hat, scarf, mittens and a thick, cable-knit sweater big enough to go over her light coat, her thin pullover, two small children and a tiny, independent nation. As he stood out of the way by the door, he gestured for her to take off her coat, which she did so, an incredulous look of ‘really?’ plastered on her face as he took it, draping it over his arm. Then, in a smooth, ‘I’m 5 and going to dress you’ motion, he dropped the sweater over her head, tugging down until her face emerged, hair askew, fuzz in her eyes and smile as wide as her cheeks would allow. His grin equaled her as she wrestled her arms into the sleeves, finally speaking again once she was dressed, “kinda big, isn’t it?”

“I bought it for me and am generously letting you borrow it. You can thank me later.” As he did the same with the mittens, hat and scarf, he declared her ready for the cold, “all set?”

Looking from the thick, Irish-knit, cabled, fisherman sweater to her flimsy, folded coat, “pretty sure I can’t get that back on, no matter how hard I try.”

He immediately began scanning the store, skimming over the employees and customers who had been watching with amusement the entire time, “do you see any winter coats?”

Scully, with embarrassment beginning to creep up her cheeks, simply held open the bag from the store, “just put my coat in here. I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ve got enough European sheep wool on me to live through nuclear winter.”

His goofy grin returned and taking her mittened hand in his, he escorted her out of the store, “I’ll expect that back the minute we get home.”

“Sure. Fine. Of course.”

Both knew that wasn’t going to happen but they had a routine so why mess with it.

Soon, they found a shop that, to Scully’s complete surprise, sold bathing suits in December … and fairly cheaply, too. Well, it wouldn’t break her bank account completely but it would bend it well enough. Denying Mulder his request to see the suits modeled, she didn’t even show him which she’d picked and purchased, shooing him to the front of the store to wait. Instead, he headed outside after letting her know, looking in surrounding store windows and ducking in the one next door before returning to his position by the door of the bathing suit place.

The sweater kept her fairly warm, all but when the wind blew its coldest, off the water, making her teeth chatter slightly but not enough to tip Mulder off she wasn’t all toasty. She did, however, stop dead in her tracks when they ambled past a bakery, complete with hot chocolate, cinnamon rolls and cute little table by the window that she bet would make Mulder seem like a giant if she got him to sit down at one. Tugging his sleeve, she pointed inside, the steam collecting at the corners of the front windows and calling to her with the promise of warmth and chocolate and sugar.

Soon, much to her amusement, Mulder was indeed settled at a tiny table with his gigantic cup of cocoa and equally large blueberry Danish, looking, as she had thought previous, like a giant … but a friendly one. He laughed, he joked, he captured both her legs between his on the pretense of warming those skinny, little sticks up with his calves and magical thoughts.

The contact was enough. Magical thoughts would have set her on fire.

They had to leave eventually, however, mostly because the waitress/counter woman kept pointedly looking at them, shooing them with her eyes so she could have their table for the torrent of customers that kept passing through. Bundling back up, they mutually decided to head back towards the hotel, the sun having set and the wind blowing even colder. Scully didn’t balk at the fanciness of the hotel this time, instead talking to the elevator operator and the doorman, laying on easy smiles, friendly banter and perfect Scully charm.

He really should have kissed her in the elevator but he had plans for that for New Years.

If he made it that long.

&&&&&&

Mulder, honest to God, always did bring his swimsuit. Not the Speedo but his normal, to the knees blue-green-yellow suit with the drawstring that never stayed tied. Changing first, he came out of the bathroom with his eyes shut, the Jacuzzi faucet filling the room with a rushing noise that he had to talk loudly over to be heard, “you decent?”

“Depends of how much liquor I’ve had and the company I’m keeping.”

Mulder stumbled, opening his eyes a fraction too late and tripping over what had to be the stupidest placed chair in the history of hotels, “I … um, I meant if you were in your suit yet so I could open my eyes but while on the subject, what kind of company am I?”

Safely in her modest, one-piece suit, she gave him a look that would pass mere mortals by but set Mulder’s heart thudding heavily, his eyes unfocusing for a fraction of a second.

And she knew it, too.

She left him standing in the middle of the room while she retrieved towels, then stepping into the hot water, her cold skin hurting for a moment at the drastic temperature change but settling in, she sighed and shut her eyes, the steam curling her hair instantly.

Mulder thought about baseball while he climbed in across from her, turning the water off when it reached a good depth. The sudden silence pushed on his ears, that stuffy cotton feeling he hated forcing him to speak, “so, that was a really good Danish.”

Scully let out a burst of laughter, nearly sliding under the water in the process but saving herself by stretching her feet to the low seat Mulder was on, then, needing better purchase, she settled her feet against his knees. Finally stable, she looked at him, amusement obvious, “yes, that Danish was very good but I prefer the cinnamon rolls myself.”

Giving her a grin, “I just hate that first few seconds when it goes from loud to quiet. Had to fill in the space.”

She squeezed his knees with her toes, “I know. Just having some fun. Although,” reaching over for the control buttons, “you could have just turned on the bubbles.”

The smile grew wider, “I forgot about those. Sitting in a glorified bathtub with you in our room in Chicago pretty much pushed my brain capacity to its limit.”

As the bubbles began to churn, she reclined back once again, head against the side, “I pretty much stopped thinking when you said we were sharing a room but I never forget bubbles.”

Yes, yes, he was never going to sleep tonight.

&&&&&&&&&&&

He did.

Even after she told him to get his ass in the king size bed because the sofa was bound to be lumpy and she had at least five feet of room he could probably squeeze himself into.

Mulder debated.

He lost.

He jumped in beside her.

And nearly bounced her right out the other side. Giggling an uncharacteristically beautiful giggle, “if you want me out of bed, just ask.”

Wiggling to settle in, he looked up at her from his pillow, “I will never, ever ask you to get out of my bed, trust me.”

“Trust no on, Mulder.”

“You don’t trust me?”

Reaching out to poke him in the cheek, “you didn’t let me finish. There’s a tiny asterisk that you didn’t know about. It says, “Trust No One asterisk except Mulder ‘cause he’s the only one I trust … that and my mother … and possibly the Gunmen depending on the day of the week and how many times Frohike looked at me like I’m Sunday dinner dowsed in gravy.”

“That is a very long asterisk.”

“Very tiny writing.”

Her turn to get comfortable, they lay there in silence for a few minutes before Mulder jumped back up, jiggling the bed once again. Eyeing him in the dark as he dug in first one pocket, then the next of his coat, he pulled out a bag, then got back under the covers, handing it to her, “I bought this for you while you were getting your bathing suit.” Sitting up, she automatically reaching for the nightstand light, he stopped her, “it’ll look better in the dark.”

Intrigued, she opened the bag, then the paper wrapped item inside, finding a small, faceted glass heart that Mulder reached over to turn on at the bottom. Suddenly, the softest red-gold light filled the hollow area, sparkling against her face as she stared, a small smile spreading slowly, never reaching full capacity but stopping at just above amazed. He loved that smile and watching her eyes take in the sparkles and glints, he reached over, running his fingers over her cheek, her chin, fingering one particularly stubborn curl at her temple, playing with the ends of her hair until he let his hand fall back to land on her thigh.

His palm on her leg brought her out of her imagination, which pictured him hanging it on her tree for the next 70 years, their kids, grandkids, great-grand kids opening gifts under while it twinkled above in the branches. Seeing it so clearly made her head spin and turning to him, she leaned in, catching him with a kiss so quick yet so firm against his mouth that when she was gone, he never doubted she’d been there.

He didn’t go back for another but sat staring at her while she stared back, her smile going wider than it had been a moment earlier, “I love it. Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome.”

After gazing for another few seconds, Scully turned the ornament off, setting in on the table beside her, “g’night, Mulder.”

Mulder knew, instinctively and because he wasn’t a complete idiot, that when she snuggled down and left her right hand extended across the mattress that yes, he was supposed to hold it.

So he did.

And watched her until she fell asleep.

While she watched him.

[soft-sarcasm]

cha hakyeon: strawberry sentiments.

8. "This calls for a celebratory drum solo!"

Pairing: choi hakyeon x reader.

Request: Anonymous: Ah this is embarassing but i did a typo! I actually wanted to request prompt 8 for vixx's N ...

Genre: fluff and baking, lots and lots of baking.

Word count: 2,6+k.

a/n: so I think I went a little intense with this one on some of the subplot and the baking but there's these channels on youtube that do the most aesthetically pleasing, asmr baking videos which I seriously reccommend you check out (my favourite channel is called Cooking Tree) because they're just so relaxing and are also where I got all the desserts from for this drabble. I'm still on my cruise and won't be getting any internet consistently so please excuse the off and on updates. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this little sugary sweet drabble for our dear leader Hakyeon.

This was not how you traditionally worked.

There were few times you had ever mustered the courage to near the kitchen that inhabited the apartment shared by 6 men for more than a glass of water during the multitude of routine visits you had made in the last 6 months. There had only been one occasion in which you had attempted to cook a mere packet of ramen in the foreign place and had had a near mental breakdown due to the lack of familiarity and organisation; you did not work well in kitchens you had little to no control over.

Perhaps it was slightly neurotic, to be so fussy when it came to your working space, but that's just what it was, your working space.

You like to attribute it the majority of your 'quirks' when it comes to kitchen space to your profession, which was baking, and while not your main focus, cooking as well. You were meticulous in the craft you had honed during the years of having your face near melted off by oven-steam and your arms made numb by hours of needing and whisking. Working at the bakery you had been a resident 'patissier' (your boss had implemented the change for ordinary "pastry chef' to its French counterpart in hopes that the change in title would make your position, and in turn his, establishment more 'prestigious') for nearly three years was near tireless, all but every single day of your life consumed by feather-light icing and burning hot baking trays. And yet, despite it being what some may call 'your daily grind' here you were, on your sole day off, baking.

Thankfully, the conception of today's confectionary creation was more so due to a personal obligation rather than a professional one; to settle a debt that had been made over two months ago but you had yet to get around to fulfilling.

It had been a promise made without any real contemplation, a brief 'of course I'll make something for you, why wouldn't I?" It had stemmed from your boyfriend's query as to why, for the entirety of your relationship (save for the one birthday of his that you had actually been together for and that hadn't really counted because it had just been one of the many cakes you had made that day but had been given permission to take) you had yet to bake him anything.

Only when Hakyeon had brought up did you realise how odd it truly was especially as Hakyeon had sung for you a multitude of times (not that you had ever asked him to- he just, did.) So it had been easy to promise that you would make something personal for him, it had been proved more difficult to find the time to do so.

But finally, the day had come. A brief break in both of your schedules and a sale on freshly in season strawberries had prompted you to declare that today was the day; you were going to bake something for your ever-loving (and ever-pestering) boyfriend.

Unfortunately, there was a complication with the well-loved oven in your own place which was why you were currently standing amongst foreign countertops as you stared down the bowl of pale pink cream within your grip with undeserved intensity.

"So what are you making me again?" Hakyeon crooned his unnecessary question from his peanut-gallery position on one of the many stools that faced the granite island that you currently stood on the opposite shore of, busy redirecting your irritated glares into a pile of pastel froth.

"For the fifth time Hakyeon," You sighed without any exaggeration whatsoever because you had been fucking counting, "Strawberry chiffon cake."

He hummed in delight, your repetition causing him a sense of joy that you would near understand, "I know, I just can't actually believe this is finally happening."

"You make it sound like this has been something you've been waiting for- for years rather than less than two months." You snarked, making a particularly harsh part in the cream you were currently working into smooth peaks.

"I have been waiting for years," He countered, swaying slightly in his rotating seat as he kept himself propped up on his elbows, hands cupped around his cheeks as he peered at you, "Ever since I first tried one of your cakes at the bakery I've wanted to have you bake for me."

While some might find that romantic, especially as Hakyeon's favourite key-descriptor when asked how you both met is 'it was love at first bake,' you scoffed, "Progressive."

"You cannot say that that was sexist, it's your job." He defended and you simply rebuffed him with a perfectly mature poke of your tongue as you placed down the bowl that you were finally satisfied with.

"Whatever," You waved off as you flipped direction in search of the wrack of knives you were sure you spotted during the fifteen minute mad-dash cleaning spree you had gone about Hakyeon's kitchen when you had first arrived.

It had taken fifteen minutes for you to decide the place was in a 'workable state' before you had toddled back down to your car to unload the small collection of tools and materials that were necessary for today's bake. The surface in front of you was looking more and more like your own kitchen, your cooking-supplies spread across it in the areas you had previously designated.

Thankfully, the brunt of the work such as the actual baking had been completed quite some time ago with no real difficulties apart from Hakyeon�s occasional mithering and three layers of sponge were currently cooling in anticipation of being decorated.

Your relationship with Hakyeon had not been something planned or anticipated, it had developed near out of nowhere due to one of those freak anomalies that some more romantic then you would call 'fate.' You on the other hand, perferred to think of it as an mesh of coincidence coensiding to dilvuldge into one of the most, dare you say, miraculous things in your life; Hakyeon.

You had first met on your home-turf; the bakery-cafe that you still worked at now even though so many other things had changed during the course of your relationship. Your workplace was in walking distance from the dorm he had lived in at the time and that ever since the first time he had devoured one of your mini red velvet cheesecakes, had been the place where he had scurried off when in need of some sugary comfort and a hug in cake form. You had only started taking notice of him on perhaps the third time he had showed up, forever busy with a multitude of measurements and sponge.

He was overtly polite, a little nervous as well as he buzzed in his spot in the line, constantly looking around as if someone would recognise him and catch him in the act of something much more illegal than buying a milk tea cupcake. On his fifth visit, you had been icing cakes at the front counter, your precise actions on display just as boss had intended so to further create a more ambient ambience of creativity and whatever other spiel he had felt inclined to feel that day. You had looked up from a particularly satisfying twirl to find Hakyeon already watching you and he had instantly looked anywhere and everywhere at once to cover up his mistake.

You had taken a keen notice of him after that.

Six weeks and four visits later (during which you most definitely had not made a purposeful point of either being in the front or simply near the register for each occasion) on a particularly quiet day where Hakyeon was one of the few customers and you were musing about the cafe for once rather than the kitchen. Hakyeon had been huddled in a back table, a piece of the green melon mouse cake you had made in theme with recent change to summer to his right while he fiddled with the straw of his iced coffee. You had subtly made the steps you had taken in his direction look unintentional; more like a routine peruse of the space then an advancement.

"Everything to your liking?" You breezed and you can still remember having to stop yourself from chuckling when he jumped up at your sudden question.

He had been so intensely startled, taking a long moment to simply blink up at you in surprise before frantically answering, "Yes- yes, it's all amazing. Great. Perfect. All of it."

"I'm glad," You mused in response, "I've noticed that you come here often so I wanted to make sure that my expirement was up to our regulars' standards."

"Expirement?" He repeated, expression dazzingly confused.

You nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, I've never made this cake before and I couldn't find any recipe for it but the melons were in season so I thought it would be a waste not to use them. It's alright, right?"

"Yes-yes," He bobbed his head in a spastic movement of reassurance, "I just can't believe that this is one of your expirements, it's amazing."

"Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it," You hadn't been able to keep the sugary grin off of your face, "Let me know if there's anything else I can get you."

Sometimes, when you think back to when you first met, you can almost still feel the latch of Hakyeon's fingers around your wrist when he had grabbed to stop you before you could turn away, and you can most definitely picture the slight shy in his expression, the uncertainty in the voice that you now knew so well when he had said,

"Actually, there is something else I need."

You had taken a moment to see look between his face to the hand on your wrist before you had answered, "What can I get you?"

"Your number."

It seemed that your's and Hakyeon's relationship was destined to be a sugary sweet as the desserts that had not only brought you together but also continued to weave in even now. Well especially now as Hakyeon continued to watch each of your movements with inherent anticipation, cheeks pushed up from the fists he used to support himself in his pose that resembled a pouty cherub.

"You're so good at this," He commented as you began to smooth down the dolop of icing you had placed on top of the recently staked and filed layers of sponge.

"Like you said, it is my job," You shrugged, slowly rotating the cake tray to so that the entire cake would be evenly covered in pastel pink.

"Not everyone is good at their job," Hakyeon countered.

"I guess," You agreed while moving on to the small bowl of mini strawberries you had bought for the sole purpose of decorating, "But I think at this point if I wasn't at least passable in my profession that I would have to start thinking about going into something else."

"Have you ever thought about what you would have done if you hadn't gotten into baking?"

"I've been baking since I was nine," You stated plainly, lifting up the piping bag filled with vanilla bean flavoured cream so you could fill in the spaces between the brightly red fruit. "I mean when I was like fifteen maybe I thought maybe I should try my hand at singing."

"Really?" Hakyeon sounded surprised even though you were almost certain you had told him before, "Why didn't you?"

You scoffed, rotating the cake to another empty spot, "I think you know exactly why, you've heard me sing."

"You're not that bad," He attempted to assure you even and you sent him a hard stare, "But I do think the world, and me, would have really missed out if you hadn't decided to go into baking."

"I do think I made the right decision," You agreed, setting down the now half-empty bag, "I met you didn't I."

"You did, didn't you," He cooed and you couldn't help but roll your eyes at his lofty arrogance, "Is it ready now?"

You took a moment to scrutinise your work, checking for even inconsitencies in the frosting and when you found none you nodded, "Good to go."

"Finally," He perked up instantly, near jumping to his feet but before he made his way over he took the moment to batter his hands against the granite counter in what you could only assume was meant to be a rhythmic tempo causing you to send him a look of both confusion and disdain which he simply shrugged at, "What? This calls for a celebratory drum solo! I'm finally tasting the cake that you've made for me and only me."

You continued to simply stare at him before shaking your head, taking his strange antics in stride as you gave him the knife, "I don't know why I do nice things for you, you're so-"

"-Charming, talented, sexy?" Hakyeon offered though his attention was solely on the cake he was currently gently stabbing into.

"Weird," You stated, handing him a plate to put the monsterour piece had portioned for himself onto. "Just so weird."

"But you like weird," He challenged, using his hip to playfully bump yours before grabbing for the fork you had left on the counter for him to use. He didn'tt say anymore once he a piece of baked good on the metal tongs that he was now lifting in the direction of his mouth, lips closing down on the utensil as the piece of peachy coloured sponge was lost forever.

You analysed his reaction, waiting for any sign of recognition as he stood with his eyes closed, savouring it. "Good?"

He didn't answer for a moment, seemingly in a haze before he near moaned, "So good. Fuck I think this might be your best work yet."

"I'm glad," You hummed, watching as he devoured the rest of his piece, "Now you can stop pestering me."

Hakyeon instantly shock his head, mouth filled with cake so that it took him a pause to answer so that he could swallow, "Nuh-uh, now that I know what it's like to have you bake only for me, I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with anything else."

"You little shit," You spat, eyes narrowing into dangerous slights, "You know there's no real difference between this cake and what I make for everyone else at the shop."

"Oh but there is," He near sang over another forkful. "There's a secret ingredient in here, just for me."

"And praytell, what is this secret indregient?"

Hakyeon sent an overly mushy gaze your way that was slightly countered by the mess of pink frosting that coated his lips as he purred out the word, "Love."

"That's it, I'm burning your apartment down."

[jessicakehoe]

Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Lainey Lui

We’re officially in Month 3 of self-isolation with an uncertain road ahead but for some much-needed inspiration, FASHION is reaching out to some of our favourite Canadians to get a peek into how they’re living their lives in lockdown (remember: #StayHomeSaveLives). Each week, keep an eye out for new self-isolation diaries from actors, designers, influencers and artists who are riding this uncertain time out with us.

Elaine “Lainey” Lui, co-host, CTV’s The Social; anchor, Etalk; founder and editor, LaineyGossip.com

Tuesday, May 12, 2020 @ 5am My phone alarm goes off. Every day it’s like Fifty First Dates where I have to be reminded that this is reality. My first thought is always… SERIOUSLY?! STILL?! My second thought, today, is that it’s not a hair-washing day which means maybe I can go back to sleep for half an hour. My third thought is that even though it’s not hair-washing day, I have to get up this early because I’m stupid slammed for eight hours straight without a break so I need to start writing my column and finish at least two thousand words by 8am.

Then I knock over my mug of water. It spills everywhere, I have to turn on the lights and wake up Jacek. Is this an omen? Is my day about to be all kinds of f*cked up? Now I’m checking my texts, with dread. Sure enough Bryan Adams decides to become a social media scandal.

5.15-7.15am I allow myself 45 minutes to decide what to do about Bryan Adams. In the end I open the site with a mention of him but pivot to spotlighting the work of another Canadian, Simu Liu, instead. Then I bang out 800 words on Jennifer Aniston and the Friends reunion and reminisce about her and Brad Pitt. Now that the first two posts of the day on LaineyGossip have been handled, it’s time to take a shower.

7.30am Back at my work station (the dining room table), hoping to finish one more post before The Social’s morning meeting at 8am. Also hungry, so I throw two biscuits in the toaster, write on my phone while I’m waiting, and am very pleased to be back at my laptop in just four minutes to get the main points of a Reese Witherspoon post together before I call in.

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Oh sorry, Elvis. Am I boring you? (As I’m trying to work and you climb into my lap just to let me know it’s time for your nap.) #beagle #dogsofinstagram

A post shared by Elaine Lui (@laineygossip) on Apr 23, 2020 at 10:41am PDT

8.30-8.45am After a conference call with The Social hosts and producers to decide on the day’s hot topics, it’s makeup time. Normally I just do my eyebrows, mascara, blush, and lipgloss but today I decide to pull out the liquid eyeliner for the first time in eight weeks because I’m interviewing Janelle Monae later and she deserves my best face. I put on a long-sleeved Zara maxi dress with a floral print over my sweatpants and green plaid socks. Nothing matches. Nobody cares.

8.45am-9.45am I give the Reese Witherspoon article a final polish before sending it to our LaineyGossip site manager to post. Then I switch over to The Social and send my show notes to our team so they can pull assets (photos, tweets) in time for when the show tapes to go with the points I’m making during our on-air discussion. But then I get a request from one of my Etalk producers to do a voiceover. I record the voiceover on my phone, upload it to a dropbox, and try to get back to LaineyGossip business and crank out one more piece to buy myself some time while I’m shooting both shows. Feeling a bit panicked now because I’m about half an hour behind where I should have been by now if the day is going to run the way I need it to. I blame Bryan Adams.

9.45am I log in to the broadcast app that we use to tape The Social remotely. It also allows me to see my colleagues, Jess Allen, Melissa Grelo, Marci Ien, and Cynthia Loyst. We check the lines, we make sure everyone’s feed is working properly, we review how the segments will run. I keep my laptop with me and keep writing while they’re working out the tech.

10.05-10.35am Ready to roll on The Social. We shoot the first two segments of today’s show that will eventually air at 1pm ET. During the three minute break in between segments I review my notes for the next segment I have to shoot. And I record another voiceover for Etalk that has to be uploaded by 10.30am.

10.40-11am After wrapping on the hot topics for today’s show, we’re now shooting a running segment for an upcoming episode on The Social. Melissa Grelo and I are interviewing a champion long distance runner for beginner tips on the sport. Since I’ve already reviewed my notes for this segment, I now review my notes for Etalk since I start shooting for it right after this segment.

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New week. Working on a new attitude.

A post shared by Elaine Lui (@laineygossip) on Apr 27, 2020 at 5:24am PDT

11-11.30am My husband repositions the tripod and camera to shoot Etalk. I dial into a different app so that I can see and hear the other hosts and our producers who are guiding us through the shoot. I use a remote control to stop and start the camera on my phone. We’ve been filming our show this way for eight weeks now. The light is weird today so Jacek puts up a black garbage bag to cover one of our big windows. I hope our neighbours don’t think we’re running a drug lab.

11.30-11.45am Etalk is wrapped but I’m now pretty anxious about LaineyGossip. It’s been over 90 minutes since I’ve written anything. I quickly whip off a post about Kristen Wiig before I have to get to the next thing.

11.45am-12pm This is my only break in the day. Time to change. Janelle Monae is known to wear a lot of black and white. I put on an MSGM black fringe dress with big white collar. Very Wednesday Addams but on a Tuesday.

12pm Time to check into the Amazon Homecoming Season 2 virtual junket. I have interviews lined up with Stephan James, Hong Chau and Chris Cooper during this block. While I’m waiting for my name to be called, I write furiously for LaineyGossip. There are only four posts on the site. I also have to review my questions for the actors.

1.10-1.30pm Having wrapped on the first round of interviews, I now have 20 minutes before I’m due to check in for the next round so I quickly make my lunch. Avocado toast! I made the avocado mix last night knowing I wouldn’t have much time. Takes me six minutes to put it all together and this gives me a thrill because I get turned on by time management and efficiency. Having fourteen minutes to eat and write feels like a small luxury!

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Light is working for me this morning. Gonna be a vain day.

A post shared by Elaine Lui (@laineygossip) on May 9, 2020 at 5:29am PDT

1.30-2.15pm Now back in the virtual hospitality room waiting to be allowed access to Janelle Monae’s interview room. Getting nervous because I love her so much and I’m worried she’ll think my questions are stupid. I scan my list of conversation topics with her and then refocus on the website because I’m almost back on schedule for the day’s posts. Feeling good about this because I can see that the toughest part of the day is almost over, and that I’m almost to cruising altitude.

2.15-2.30pm The interview with Janelle went well. She wore a floppy straw hat and a white shirt and looked so chill and beautiful and her voice makes me feel like the whole world is dripped in gold.

2.30-3pm Bonus! The junket finished half an hour early which means I have half an hour to wrap the site before my next shoot for The Social, which is about spring baking. I put the finishing touches on LaineyGossip for the day and then head upstairs to change back into the outfit I was wearing for the first shoot of the day. Continuity, you know? Also must reapply lipgloss.

3-3.45pm We shoot the baking segment with our culinary expert. Right now, I’m a bit loopy because it has been a DAY, but that makes the segment more fun, more engaging, and we need that because taping over the internet between so many different people (two hosts and one guest, plus producers and technicians, all of us in our own homes) results in audio delays and awkward talking over each other or gaps. So if you’re not having a good time through the conversations, it’s not fun to watch.

3.45-5pm Now I pour a drink: a glass of rosé. It’s not 5pm yet but whatever, my day starts earlier than whoever it was who came up with the 5pm thing. And it’s not like I haven’t earned it. Time to go through emails and reply to the producers who’ve been waiting on answers from me for future segments. And record a last minute voiceover for the Etalk.

5-6.15pm Jacek and I set up the dining table to podcast. On Tuesdays I record the What’s Your Drama podcast with Sasha Tong. She normally comes over but since that’s not possible, we now talk to and see each other over FaceTime and our audio is captured on a separate app. Our podcast is giving people advice – which we are not qualified to do because we basically just try to crack each other up the whole time. It’s the best way to end the work day, with a friend you miss, laughing and getting silly and trying to forget that we are in this crazy, scary reality. Also I’m relieved. Turns out spilling the water first thing in the morning was the worst thing that happened.

6.15-7pm I’ve been eating home-cooked meals almost every night during lockdown. For some reason, it gives me great pleasure to be in the kitchen prepping all our food. On the menu tonight: shredded chicken over rice noodles in a green curry coconut broth. I roasted and shredded the chicken on the weekend so it’s just about getting the broth to flavour and chopping up some vegetables. This is when I crank up the music and just let loose and let the day fall away. It starts all over again in less than 12 hours.

The post Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Lainey Lui appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

Self-Isolation Diary: A Day in the Life of Lainey Lui published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[biofunmy]

The Housing Market Needs More Than Low Mortgage Rates

The Federal Reserve is hoping that its latest interest-rate cut will help keep the economy safely at cruising altitude. But don’t expect it to provide much of a lift to the housing market.

Housing is one of the pathways by which Fed policy produces results. When the central bank cuts interest rates, it encourages people to buy houses (since mortgages are cheaper) and builders to ramp up construction (since demand is strong and borrowing is easier). Those decisions then ripple through the economy, as people buy furniture, builders hire workers and brokers cash their commission checks.

But housing isn’t the engine it once was. The sector is a smaller part of the economy than before the financial crisis, and a smaller share of Americans are homeowners. And with rates already low, it isn’t clear that a further cut by the Fed will do much for housing — if it lowers mortgage rates at all. (More about that in a minute.)

Interest rates still matter for housing. The Fed’s first two rate cuts this year helped stabilize the housing market, which had been heading for a major slump. On Wednesday, the Commerce Department said that construction added to gross domestic product in the third quarter after six quarters of contraction. And lower rates could give another jolt to a refinancing boom that has injected billions of dollars into the economy in recent months.

But few economists expect the housing market to take off in response to this week’s rate cut, because rates aren’t what was holding back housing in the first place. Instead, they point to other factors.

It’s hard to get a mortgage.

Interest rates don’t matter if no one will give you a loan in the first place. And a lot of would-be buyers are in that situation.

After the housing bubble burst over a decade ago, banks and other financial institutions became far more cautious in their lending, partly because of new federal rules meant to discourage risky loans. No one wants a return of the bubble-era “liar loans,” for which borrowers were allowed to state their income without verification. But some argue that the pendulum has swung too far the other way.

The typical home buyer today has a FICO credit score of 741, compared with 700 before the housing crisis, according to data from the Urban Institute. Hardly any buyers have a score below 650. Other measures of affordability likewise show that lending standards have loosened a bit in recent years but remain tighter than in the early 2000s, before the subprime lending boom.

“There are a lot of people that have the income to afford their payments, they could be responsible homeowners, but they may have a lower FICO score, they may have a smaller down payment, and that really holds them back,” said Melissa Stegman, a lawyer at the Center for Responsible Lending, an advocacy group.

Jewell Handy has a steady income as a teacher, money for a down payment and even a history of successful homeownership. But when she decided to buy a house for herself and her mother in Houston this summer, she discovered that she couldn’t get a conventional mortgage. The reason: a credit score in the mid-600s because of an old issue with a student loan.

Ms. Handy eventually got approval for a more expensive loan through the Federal Housing Administration. But with a week left before the sale is scheduled to close, she is still fielding paperwork requests from her lender, and she isn’t sure the loan will go through.

“They’re somehow not confident in my finances, but I don’t really understand why,” she said.

Tight lending standards disproportionately affect African-Americans like Ms. Handy. Black workers earn less on average than white workers, and they are less likely to have well-to-do family members who can help with a down payment. The homeownership rate among black Americans tumbled during the housing market’s collapse and has barely recovered, even as whites and other racial groups have made progress.

Glenn Kelman, chief executive of the online brokerage Redfin, said the combination of low interest rates and tight lending standards was exacerbating existing economic divides.

“Right now, money’s really cheap, but you have to have a good credit score to be able to access it,” he said. “It’s been a bonanza for one group of people, the people who have always been able to get credit.”

It’s hard to find a house to buy (at least one you can afford).

Housing prices have risen faster than wages in much of the country in recent years. And many cities, particularly on the coasts, are in the midst of a full-blown affordability crisis. In cities like San Francisco, Seattle and Boston, the median price of a home listed for sale is well over half a million dollars, according to the real estate site Zillow, and even starter homes can top $300,000 — if there are any available.

At those prices, a modest dip in interest rates will hardly make a difference, said Susan M. Wachter, a professor of real estate at the University of Pennsylvania.

“This interest-rate decline will not do it — it will not turn these potential owners into buyers,” she said. “Lower interest-rate costs are not effectively overcoming these affordability barriers.”

The escalation in prices is a particular challenge for first-time home buyers, who must struggle to come up with an ever-larger down payment. And while price appreciation has slowed somewhat over the past year in many markets, that isn’t true for entry-level homes, which are still seeing low inventories and rapid price growth.

“The few entry-level homes that are on the market are getting snapped up so quickly that it perpetuates the increasing home values in some of these markets,” said Matt Speakman, an economist at Zillow.

Rates are already low (and may not get much lower).

Interest rates on conventional mortgages have fallen sharply since late last year, in part because of the Fed’s rate cuts. That has encouraged borrowing: Lenders extended $700 billion in mortgage loans in the third quarter, the most since the financial crisis. Most of that surge came in refinancing, but there has been an increase in home buying as well.

But with rates near record lows, it’s unlikely that many would-be buyers are on the sidelines awaiting a further cut. And if they are waiting, they might be disappointed — many economists say financial markets have already “priced in” Wednesday’s rate cut.

“I’m skeptical that rate cuts are going to have any noticeable impact on housing in the short-run,” said Ralph McLaughlin, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic, a real estate data provider.

There’s another catch: Mortgage rates are tied not to short-term rates, which the Fed directly controls, but instead to long-term rates, which partly reflect market expectations about the economy’s direction — long-term rates tend to rise when investors are more optimistic. So if the Fed’s policy achieves its broader aim, it can lead to higher mortgage rates.

That has already begun to happen. Mortgage rates have edged upward since September as fears about an imminent recession eased. Michael Fratantoni, chief economist of the Mortgage Bankers’ Association, said he expected rates to continue to rise gradually.

Sahred From Source link Real Estate

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Between Gun Massacres, a Routine, Deadly Seven Days of U.S. Shootings

A boy accidentally killed by his father during a fishing trip in Montana. A woman dead and her husband behind bars after a single gunshot in a Dallas hotel room. A teenager cut down on his porch on a warm day in Washington state.

During the week bookended by mass shootings in Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio, in which gunmen killed 34 people, hundreds of others were shot to death across 47 U.S. states, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit group that uses local news and police reports to track gun incidents.

The deaths were the sort of everyday murders, suicides and accidents that may not grab the headlines of mass shootings, but in many ways show the true toll of the gun violence endemic to the United States.

More than 36,000 people are shot to death every year on average in America, according to U.S. government data compiled by the gun-control advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. That works out to about 100 a day, or one every 14-1/2 minutes. Suicides account for more than 60 percent of those deaths. Slightly more than a third are homicides.

Here are some of the victims of deadly shootings during the week between the attack in Gilroy and the attack in Dayton:

SUNDAY, JULY 28

Soon after a gunman opened fire at the Gilroy Garlic Festival, Steven Parsons was sitting in a parked car with two other people 1,500 miles away in an alley in Kansas City, Missouri.

The 27-year-old died there along with another man, Montae Robinson, shot by a gunman who is still at large, police said. The third person in the car is being sought by police for questioning but is not a suspect.

“I have a wedding dress in my closet that I will never wear,” Marissa Tantillo said during Parsons’ funeral service on Wednesday evening at a chapel in Blue Springs, near Kansas City.

They had two daughters together and planned to marry in a few months. She urged mourners never to take their loved ones for granted. “All I want you to do is hold your husband a little closer, hold your wife a little tighter,” she said.

Tantillo recalled a romance that began when she and Parsons were barely teenagers.

“So many of us don’t believe in love anymore,” Tantillo told the gathering. “In Steven I knew I found my soul mate.”

Parsons had a sense of adventure as a boy, his father, Steve Parsons, said at the service. “We’d be cruising along in the old white van and he’d say, ‘What’s that way?’ and so we’d turn and go that way,” Parsons said.

People should remember the years his son lived, not the day he died, he said. “Do not let the last day destroy all the good days you had with him.”

MONDAY, JULY 29

Guests at the Hotel ZaZa in Dallas heard a commotion and screams from the room where Jacqueline Rose Parguian and her husband, Peter Nicholas, were staying on Monday night.

When hotel security staff knocked on the door, no one answered. Paramedics, responding to a 911 call about a woman loudly in distress and a report of a possible drug overdose, listened to the commotion outside as they waited for police to arrive, per department rules. A noisy hour passed. A gunshot rang out. The arguing stopped. Parguian was dead.

“Jackie had a passion for beauty,” an obituary published by Parguian’s family said. She pursued a degree in cosmetology and graduated from a Dallas beauty school in 2016.

She loved ’90s pop music, especially the boy band NSYNC, and collected concert tickets in a box of memories. One of six children, she was known for checking in frequently with her younger siblings.

She was 32. Her sons are 2 and 8.

“How do we explain to those little angels that their parents are both not going to be there anymore, ya know?” Parguian’s mother said in an interview. Friends and relatives had soon pledged more than $25,000 in donations to a GoFundMe fundraiser in support of the boys’ uncertain future.

When their father, known to some Dallas music fans as DJ Pete Mash, opened the hotel room door on Monday night to police, he had blood on him and an extension cord wrapped around his neck, according to the Dallas Police Department.

Police said he seemed high on drugs and that they had to subdue him with a stun gun after he began screaming and fighting. They found a handgun in a backpack in the room near Parguian’s body.

Explaining the delayed response, police later said officers were responding to higher-priority calls that night before reports of a gunshot came through.

Nicholas, 30, was arrested and charged with his wife’s murder. He was later released on a $250,000 bond. An attorney for Nicholas did not respond to a request for comment.

“Peter is a nice young man,” Parguian’s mother, Tess Parguian, told a local ABC television affiliate. “He’s very polite, and that’s why I cannot believe he could do such a thing.”

TUESDAY, JULY 30

It was a warm day in Tacoma, Washington, and Jamone Pratt was out on a friend’s front porch when he was shot in the head. Witnesses told police they saw at least two cars speeding away. Pratt was 16 years old.

Police have made no arrests. Jamone’s mother, Kyndal Pierce, has filled her Facebook page with anguished posts, saying she’s finding it hard to go on without her eldest son, a “tall and skinny” kid the family called Junior and who was inseparable from his sister.

“He made some bad choices, you know, got involved with the wrong people,” Pierce said in an interview with a local news channel. “I don’t know what happened, but I know my baby didn’t deserve this.”

A schoolmate of Jamone’s who makes music under the name KiingCalebb recorded a rap tribute to his friend called “MonesWrld.” The lyrics include oblique references to gang rivalries.

“Thought you were going to make it to 18,” the lyrics went. “All you wanted were your dreams / but now you fly high.”

WEDNESDAY, JULY 31

Growing up in the Miami area as a black transgender woman, Kiki Fantroy faced a lot of bullying – but that never altered her natural inclination to trust and forgive other people, her mother said.

Fantroy, 21, was shot several times early in the morning after leaving a house party, becoming the 13th black transgender woman killed in the United States this year, activists say.

The killing prompted several events in her memory, including a “Take Back the Night” event held by a local transgender women’s group and a candlelight vigil.

In an interview, Fantroy’s mother, Rhonda Comer, switched back and forth between using her daughter’s preferred name, Kiki, and her birth name, Marquis, and between masculine and feminine pronouns.

Comer said she supported Fantroy’s decision to begin transitioning as a teenager.

Fantroy always had a flair for fashion, Comer said.

“He would make clothes, he would tell me what to wear, what he wanted to wear, and he would always put his twist on things,” said Comer, 44. “Kiki could take a shirt and a skirt and make it a whole different outfit; you can’t ask me her favorite color because, honey, she wore it all.”

Fantroy loved and trusted people implicitly, Comer said, a trait that sometimes worried her – especially after Fantroy was sexually assaulted and “dumped in a tomato field” at age 16 by someone she had met online.

Fantroy had just left a house party with a friend, another transgender woman, and Comer said she was convinced they were deliberately targeted. Police in Miami-Dade County have declined to call the shooting a hate crime.

Police later arrested a 17-year-old boy and charged him with murder after a witness picked him out of a lineup.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 1

Caden Lacunza, 11, had finished cleaning one fish and was just starting on the second one he had caught near Crow Creek Falls in rural Montana when he was shot in the head.

His father, Cadet, dropped the .357 revolver he had just fired, sprinted toward his fallen son and began yelling for his wife.

Hours later, he was under arrest for negligent homicide.

The details of the incident, laid out in a Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office report, indicate Cadet Lacunza didn’t intend any harm when he shot off a round in the direction of the river.

He had seen his family, including his wife, his son and his daughter, near the campfire, and decided to shoot his pistol, according to the report. While he was retrieving the gun from his pickup truck, however, Caden made his way to the river to clean the fish he had snared.

Lacunza’s lawyer, Greg Beebe, said his client was innocent of any criminal wrongdoing.

“This was just a tragic accident, and not a negligent homicide,” Beebe said. “At the center of this, we have a family who’s been devastated.”

Lacunza’s wife, Victoria, told Reuters in a Facebook message that the shooting was an accident but declined to comment further.

At the scene, officers retrieved Lacunza’s revolver, the cylinder still loaded except for a single spent round. In the river, about 10 feet from where Caden collapsed, they found a cleaned fish; the other fish was on the ground where the boy had dropped it, a small cut in its belly and a knife lying nearby.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 2

Deante Strickland came running out of his grandparents’ house in Portland, Oregon, in mid-afternoon, bleeding from the chest.

“I don’t want to die,” he said, according to a construction worker who was at a site nearby. “My sister shot me.”

Strickland, 22, died near his home despite efforts to save his life. His sister, Tamena Strickland, has been charged with his murder, as well as with wounding her grandmother and aunt.

Authorities have not offered a motive for the shooting. Tamena Strickland’s defense lawyer, Robert Crow, said it was still too early to know exactly what had happened.

“Everybody is of the belief that this isn’t who Tamena is,” he said, adding that many family members attended her initial court appearance on Monday in support of both her and her brother. Tamena Strickland has not entered a plea and remains in custody in the Multnomah County Detention Center.

Crow said neither sibling had a criminal record, and there was no outward sign of any dispute between them.

“That’s part of what makes it such a mystery to people,” he said.

Strickland was a standout basketball and football player in high school. He spent two years at a junior college in Wyoming before transferring to his hometown school Portland State University, where he played on the basketball team.

He was entering graduate school at PSU in the fall and planned to play for the football team.

Friends and teammates flooded social media with remembrances of “Strick,” praising his devotion to Portland, his near-permanent smile and his love for basketball.

In a video he filmed shortly before graduation this year, Strickland said, “My advice to you: Don’t take the time for granted. It goes by fast, so try to enjoy every moment.”

SATURDAY, AUGUST 3

It was a cheerful summer Saturday afternoon in Denise Wimberly’s house in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood.

As music filled her home, the 61-year-old mother of four relaxed on her couch with her niece as her son Calvin Seay got ready for an afternoon basketball game.

“He came back in the house to lay his clothes out because he was a neat freak,” she said. “Then he left to go down the street to show the neighbors the phone he just got.”

Moments after the 23-year-old left, police officers responded to an alert from the department’s gunshot-detection system.

They found Seay, a father of one, lying on the sidewalk steps from his home. He had been shot once in the head and once in the chest.

“My other son ran down the street, saying Calvin got shot,” Wimberly said. She jumped up and threw down her cigarette. “I almost set my couch on fire.”

“He was my baby,” she said. “They need to stop the shooting, because they are shooting people that they don’t need to be.” No suspects have been arrested.

Seay’s slaying was part of a bloody weekend in Chicago in which seven people were killed and at least 45 others were wounded, including a 5-year-old boy.

“What will it take for people to become sick and tired at the level of gun violence in this country?” Chicago Superintendent of Police Eddie Johnson asked at a news conference.

Seay, whose daughter turned 6 last week, loved to draw and play basketball and had just gotten a job with the Chicago Park District, where he was working with children at a summer camp.

“He was no person to go hang out on the street. He wasn’t like that at all,” Wimberly said. “He said that since he got the job, he was going to send me on vacation. That’s how he was.”

Less than 12 hours after Seay’s death, a gunman opened fire on the street in downtown Dayton, killing nine people.

Another week of gun violence in America was drawing to an end.

(Additional reporting and writing by Kevin Murphy in Kansas City, Zachary Fagenson in Miami and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Kari Howard)

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[connorsimpson]

Media Diet: Jolie Kerr

This interview was recorded in February, 2014 for a Media Diet feature on The Atlantic Wire. It was condensed and edited for clarity. Jolie is now a podcaster, a New York Times columnist, and a Patreon contributor. She was promoting her first book. 

How do people deal with the torrent of information pouring down on us all? What sources can't they live without? We regularly reach out to prominent figures in media, entertainment, politics, the arts, and the literary world to hear their answers. This is drawn from a conversation with Jolie Kerr, the Ask a Clean Person columnist, and author of My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag . . . and Other Things You Can't Ask Martha, which comes out this week. 

So I'm going to tell you there are two that I love, love, love love. I love Family Circle. Feel free to use this, because I don't hide this at all. Maybe like eight or so years ago, I was in pretty intensive therapy for severe depression. Saved my life, blah blah blah, but the best part of therapy — other than having my life saved — was they always had copies of Family Circle in the waiting room. And my therapist was a chronically late person, so I always got there early so I'd have all this extra time to read issue after issue of Family Circle. I've always been like this. I'm not normal. So Family Circle is like, whatever you think of Family Circle is right. It's a grandma magazine. (This is not the comic strip.) Its competitors would be Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal, Redbook, all that. What I call Grey Hair Ladies Magazines. Or, possibly better would be like Mom Khakis Magazines. (I don't wear Mom Khakis.) Of those titles — I read all of them, I love them — Family Circle is definitely a long time favorite. Redbook, on the other hand — Kathy Griffin talks about this in one of her stand up specials, that she was asked to do an interview with Redbook and she was like, "uh, Redbook, do you know I am? I don't think you want that," but then she went and read Redbook, and she was like, "Woah! This is not my Grandmother's Redbook!" — so Redbook has pivoted a little bit, and it's still for that core audience of like, I would say, I don't know how they define it, that 35-60 or whatever, the middle-aged generation. But they're much more modern about that generation. Like, they have sex articles, you know what I mean? I know! I KNOW! Redbook! It's frickin' great. The other ones, I think, are still staid. They're trying to kind of evolve, of course they have to, but they're a little bit more staid. But yeah, Redbook. Good for Redbook.

I open email and then Twitter and then Facebook, in that order. Email because I always want to check, file and organize anything that comes in after my 9 pm curfew. So if it's Ask a Clean Person questions, I read them. I file them. I have a file for all my Clean Person questions. I read every question, I do. And then, you know, dash off emails to friends. One of my best friends lives in Australia, so a lot of time when I wake up in the morning he has sent me links and cute videos, blah blah blah. So then I open Twitter and immediately have a panic attack, and then I open Facebook because it makes me less panicky.

I hide people on Facebook all the time. I realized that if I have negative thoughts about someone, I hide them. Because that's not nice, it's not nice to have negative thoughts about people. I just kind of scan Facebook and then by the time I'm done that I'm ready to face Twitter. I'm really compulsive, like, I have to go all the way back through my timeline until I hit the very last tweet I read before my 9 pm curfew. I am constantly re-evaluating what and who I'm following. So right now I follow about 150 accounts. I keep it really low. It's a mental health thing. I get very easily overwhelmed. A lot of this cleaning stuff comes from the fact that I'm very easily overwhelmed, so keeping things clean and in order helps me to control that. You know how you can go into someone's account and turn off so you don't see when they're retweeting things? Like, contstanly doing that. That's like a daily activity for me. Just beacuse it's like, oh god, there's so much to read, what did I miss. It's the fear of missing out. Of course I rationally know. It's just feels like so much, which it never really is. 

If I didn't go through Twitter the way I do, I would have missed this New York Times story, "Do Curlers Make Good Housekeepers?" It was posted last night, at some point after 9 pm Eastern.

My commute is, I get out of bed and sit at my kitchen table so usually during my commute I'm not consuming any media. I don't have a cable connection — we have a TV with an Apple TV connection, and that's it. I don't watch any live TV or anything like that. All of my news is online. Everything is online. I think the only thing I still read in print is Vanity Fair. It's just like, an old habit of mine, to read Vanity Fair in print. I had a subscription to Texas Monthly. That was the last magazine subscription I had, which was great. I loved it in print because of all the little weird ads in the back. They were so great, and Texas, and weird, and like, blah blah blah. I still read paper books, though. I haven't switched to kindle or anything like that. That's my one weird hold out.

You know, maybe two thirds of my day is working. Either that's writing, following up on press requests, dealing with stuff with my publisher, that kind of stuff. The other part of my day is, you know, so my cleaning, cooking, going to the grocery store. On some days, generally it's Wednesdays and Fridays, are my laundry days, so those days in the afternoon I pack up the laptop, pack up the laundry. I go down to my laundromat, get the laundry started and sit at my corner bar and work from my corner bar. That's a typical day.

I have a 9 PM curfew for any interactive or social media. At 9 PM, off goes email, Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr — I don't really use Tumblr any more, but I used to use Tumblr — anything that I can have any interaction with people. I'll catch up on anything that I snooped during the day that I didn't have time to read. Katie Baker's stuff on Grantland is a good example of stuff that, when I see it come up on Twitter, I say, "save that for tonight to read in bed." If I get through all that stuff really fast, or don't have any stuff to catch up on, I go to the Longform tabs page and cruise through the tags and like, "oh, tonight I'd like to read about organzied crime. Let me see what they have." They never have enough about organized crime! I'm always like, "come on!" I'm an organzied crime junkie. 

I'm obsessed with Deadspin. I love sports gossip! There's so much frickin'.... sports culture is hilarious to me. I was this way in college too. I really like men's magazines. I don't read a lot of women's titles beyond those "old lady" titles, which, a lot of that I do because of what I do for work. But in terms of general interest stuff, I read a lot of Esquire, GQ, Details, Deadspin. I'm a frat boy at heart.

I was totally sorority girl. I was the hair-bow-wearing pledge mom of Kappa Alpha Beta. I went to Barnard College, of Columbia University. Let's detour for a minute and talk about my parents sending my to New York when I was 18. Me, of all people. People are always like, "you're so clean. How do you know how to do all this stuff?" Um, pleeease, I was a party girl. I'm older now, and all that stuff. But I was a paaarty giiirl. For sure. A lot of knowing how to clean this stuff came out of like, living through making the messes. Or if I didn't make them myself I was at parties where someone had to clean the barf off the floor and guess who was doing that? Pledge mooom! Pledge mom Jolie. That's where a lot of the empathy for the column comes from. I was always the person who cleaned up someone else's barf that needs cleaning up. Like, people barf! It's OK! Barf happens. I barf! I don't like barfing. I'm a bad barfer. But, you know, yeah!

Used bike shorts comes to mind. It was an early column. Personally, as Jolie, the idea of used bike shorts is horrifying but when I sit and think about it for two seconds I feel badly that I’ve even said that because I understand that those things are expensive and I understand that someone might need to buy those second hand, you know what I mean? And then it's like, "you're being a bitch. Don't be a bitch." I wouldn't want someone to be bitchy to me! I told them how to clean them. I zipped my lip. I think I opened it with a note, like, "let's just put aside whether you should or should not buy these. They were already purchased. What are we gonna do? We're gonna clean them." [Setting aside personal hangups] is the most important part of my job.

You can get cleaning advice a ton of other places. I'm not the first person to dispense cleaning adivce. The difference is two things. One, is the Q&A format. You're reading the stories behind how the messes were made. A number of people aren't doing that! And that's the fun of it. That's why people wanna read the column, it's funny. But the other thing is that people know when they come to me that they're not gonna get judged. They're not gonna be kicked around for a choice they've made — good, bad, ugly, whatever. I'm just here to help.

The other thing is, people are always like, "oh, I'm so scared to have you in my home." And like, I don't care if you don't make your bed every day! It's not my bed. I don't live in your home. It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter to me if you don't do your dishes. But it you want to know how to do your dishes, I'm here to help. If you want to know why I think you should make your bed every day, I'm here to tell you. But I'm not here to jam anything down anyone’s throat, for crying out loud.

I am not a doctor. I don't want to cross the line into encouraging people to write to me thinking I can offer psychological help or anything. So I never run those type of questions but I always write back personally to those people. I offer to help, and acknowledge that they've written to me, and ask if they're seeking out professional help. I feel that there's some responsibility on my end if someone comes to me. I've had people who are cutters write to me. So what they're writing to me about, is they're asking about blood stains, and I'll say, "ok, here is a researched body of work about blood stains that I'm sending to you for help, but also you have now told me you're engaging in behaviour and I wanna make sure that you are seeking help, have help, if not, can I give you some resources? Can I encourage you to seek help?" And again, oftentimes, I'll share and say, "I don't think I should run this question." And I'll tell them that, "This is a problem I've had and you're talking to someone who understands, so please seek help if you can. Things can be better. Things can get better." Things are better for me. 

The things I read most often other than the big magazines is, like. I love a regional interest title, so like Garden and Gun, or Texas Monthly. I love Texas Monthly, it's so good. Sunset Magazine, which is like a western magazine. Yankee Magazine, which is a New England-based magazine. And Down East, which is Maine-specific, and I love Maine. Maine is such a weird state, and everyone from Maine is just a little bit off but in the best way possible. So of course there are a million stories. 

I read The Economist for the obituaries only.

I subscribe to the American Cleaning Institute newsletter. It's exactly what it sounds like.

[businessweekme]

Nobody Is Ready for the Rise of the Killer Robot: Tobin Harshaw

It was another busy year for everybody’s favorite automotive-industry disruptor, space-travel visionary and potential James Bond villain Elon Musk. Tesla surpassed Ford and General Motors in market capitalization; the Gigafactory began churning out lithium-ion batteries; his neighborhood roofing company began installing solar panels that aren’t crimes against architecture; he’s sending two rockets to Mars; he started digging a giant tunnel under Los Angeles; and he dissed President Donald Trump over the Paris Climate Accord. (OK, he had a few misses too; just ask anybody on the Model 3 waiting list.)

Given all this, you may have overlooked another of Musk’s 2017 initiatives: saving humanity. Last summer, he and a bunch of other tech-industry A-listers — including Google’s artificial-intelligence guru Mustafa Suleyman — wrote a letter to the United Nations urging a ban on killer robots. The future dystopia they anticipate would make you nostalgic for Skynet:

Lethal autonomous weapons threaten to become the third revolution in warfare. Once developed, they will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend. These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways. We do not have long to act. Once this Pandora’s Box is opened, it will be hard to close.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon was also writing a letter — its 2018 budget request asking Congress for $13 billion in science and technology money and another $10 billion for space-based systems. With all respect to Mr. Hyperloop, he’s going to find the military-industrial complex a much tougher foe than the dinosaurs of Detroit.

Nonetheless, as somebody who’s a tad nervous to be alone in the house with Alexa, I’d like to think there are folks involved with autonomous weaponry who share Musk’s concerns, if not his tired mythological metaphors. So this week I found one such person: Robert H. Latiff, the author of “Future War: Preparing for the New Global Battlefield.”

Latiff retired from the Air Force as a major general in 2006, last serving as the director of advanced systems and technology at the National Reconnaissance Office. Since then, he has worked in the defense industry and as a lecturer at Notre Dame and George Mason universities. Here is a lightly edited transcript of our discussion:

Tobin Harshaw: General, you left the military more than a decade ago, so why come out with this book now? Did your experiences in the private sector and academia inform your view of the “new global battlefield”?

Robert Latiff: Well, I’d actually been thinking of this since back around the time of the invasion of Iraq. When I saw some of the things that were going on, not the least of which was Abu Ghraib, they bothered me a lot. Then I went to work, as you might expect, as a defense contractor, and it was not a bad job. But neither there nor while I was in the military did I actually hear anyone ask whether we should be doing some of the research we were doing. You know, some of it was a little scary — I don’t know that it was necessarily unethical — but nobody ever asked the question.

TH: Can you give an example or two?

RL: Generally, some of the things that had to do with biology were a little frightening, things like synthetic biology where you don’t really know the ultimate implications. And some of the work with electromagnetics was a little scary, particularly as it had to do with humans and lethality.

TH: Got it. So you spent some time in the private sector, and …

RL: When I finally left and began teaching and doing consulting I had some time and these things were still bothering me, and I contacted the people at Notre Dame. They jumped at the chance of having me put together a course, which became hugely popular. Ultimately I was asked to write a book nominally but not totally based on the course I was teaching.

TH: And how did the students at Notre Dame react to the material?

RL: First of all it frightened them a little bit. I think they were probably more surprised than anything else. Many of them had never had any exposure to the military at all.

When you start talking to them about some of the newer weapons, it kind of blew their minds. For many of them the first response was, “Yeah we’ve got to do this.” But when I started asking them to think about the ethical implications, they sort of stepped back from that, and I think they really got a lot out of it.

TH: As long as there’s been warfare, there have been arguments about the ethics of warfare. Thomas Aquinas’s “just war” theory is probably the most famous. As we look at today’s technologies, which ones raise the biggest questions for you viewed in that long tradition?

RL: I think that artificial intelligence and autonomy raise probably the most questions, and that is largely because humans are not involved. So if you go back to Aquinas and to St. Augustine, they talk about things like “right intention.” Does the person who is doing the killing have right intention? Is he even authorized to do it? Are we doing things to protect the innocent? Are we doing things to prevent unnecessary suffering? And with autonomy and artificial intelligence, I don’t believe there’s anybody even in the business who can actually demonstrate that we can trust that those systems are doing what they should be doing.

TH: Well, we know that a lot of people are worried about this. Last year a bunch of tech-industry bigshots wrote a letter to the U.N. urging a ban on killer robots. There was a group that held a meeting in November, under the authority of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons that tried to get the ball rolling on a global ban. To me, this honestly sounds like a lot of do-gooder nonsense. But do you think an international effort can be made to limit the sort of apocalyptic level of things that people worry about?

RL: I do think that there is, and there should be. Incidentally, the people who are supporting this weapons ban actually contacted me at one point. And my response to them was that I don’t think it’s do-gooder nonsense. I think it’s the right intention but it’s the wrong approach. And let me explain. First, I don’t think bans ever work. And second, I don’t believe developed nations are going to participate in a ban. And so whenever you ban something, pretty much it just goes underground and you can’t police it because in international law there’s no policing.

I am a big fan of arms-control agreements and nonproliferation agreements. Countries like the U.S. and Russia and China, they’re going to do this regardless. And if we could create some kind of arms-control agreement where we could maybe limit the things that we do collectively and have some kind of verification regime — and more importantly, agree to try to at least contain the proliferation — that would be a step forward. Yes, places like North Korea and other rogue nations and ISIS, they’re ultimately going to get some of this stuff. But it would be a lot easier to police and verify an arms-control agreement than a ban.

TH: I’m also a big fan of nuclear nonproliferation agreements. But with that, we’re talking about major hardware and a vast industrial base that you need to build the stuff, and then actual nuclear material that is hard to produce and hard to hide. Whereas with AI and cyber weapons, production is pretty easy to hide. How do you do verification?

RL: Well, that is the question of the day, and I don’t have any pithy answers, other than to the extent that we can create some sort of verification agreements. The major powers are pretty good at that. With today’s agreements, we have overflights of Russia and they’ll overfly us, and we’ll take satellites over there and they’ll bring satellites to look at us.

So with new technologies, we’ll need to get some opportunity to just go into these laboratories and see what they’re doing, and we’re pretty good at projecting what their real capabilities are. I don’t know exactly what a regime would look like, but it would clearly be better than just having a ban and trying to find the needle in the haystack.

TH: A few months ago I interviewed former Deputy Defense Secretary Bob Work, who oversaw the Barack Obama administration’s cutting-edge Pentagon modernization..  He calls this initiative the “third offset,” and says it is necessary because our great-power competitors, Russia and China, are achieving parity with our “second-offset” guided munitions and integrated battle networks. Do you view the challenge of the future in that same way?

RL: I do and I agree with the secretary that they really caught up with us. Just look at the recent demonstration of Russian cruise missiles in Syria — those were pretty good cruise missiles. With things like autonomy and artificial intelligence and hypersonic weapons and electromagnetic weapons, if they have not achieved parity, they’re coming up really quite fast. So we won’t have the third offset for nearly as long as we had the second offset.

TH: Right — the advantages of the first two offsets, first in nuclear technology and then in precision weapons, lasted decades. This one is probably more short- to medium-term. So, given that, which of these new technologies should the Pentagon be focused on?

RL: I think we still have an advantage in autonomy and cyber. I think the one that worries me more than any of the others, and it isn’t clear to me that we actually have an advantage, is electronic warfare. I’m not necessarily talking just about huge nuclear electromagnetic pulses, I’m talking about everything from very small electronic warfare to great big electronic warfare.

TH: Such as jamming systems?

RL: Well, jamming systems is one. Or electronic pulses that could either destroy or interfere with some of our electronic systems. It’s a little bit like cyberwarfare, but it’s using electromagnetic pulses. And then battlefield weapons that incorporate microwaves and things like directed energy beams.

TH: So, not just killer robots, but also “Star Trek” phasers. Speaking of which, we know that outer space is, under U.N. treaty, supposed to remain unweaponized. But I think it’s on the verge of getting weaponized pretty quickly. China, Russia and even countries like India are putting a lot of money into space. Do you think we need a space nonproliferation effort?

RL: I would personally welcome a space nonproliferation effort. Again, I think the major powers are probably not anywhere near wanting to do that. When you say “Star Wars” or “Star Trek,” I don’t worry so much about that — battles going on in space. I even don’t worry about the stationing of weapons in space that might have an effect on the Earth. If you know anything about physics and orbital mechanics, that’s just way too expensive.

What I do worry about is that the U.S. — and increasingly China and Russia — is extraordinarily dependent on space systems. Everybody knows that. And so a ground-based anti-satellite system, or lasers or electromagnetics that might interfere with the functioning of our very critical space systems, or even on-orbit systems that might interfere with or ultimately perhaps destroy one of our satellites — these are all extremely worrisome.

TH: What else keeps you up at night?

RL: The whole approach that the DoD is taking to autonomy worries me a lot. I’ll explain: They came out with a policy in 2012 that a real human always has to be in the loop. Which was good. I am very much against lethal autonomy. But unlike most of these policies, there was never any implementing guidance. There was never any follow-up. A Defense Science Board report came out recently that didn’t make any recommendations on lethal autonomy. In all, they are unusually quiet about this. And frankly, I think that’s because any thinking person recognizes that autonomy is going to sneak up on us, and whether we agree that it’s happening or not, it will be happening. I kind of view it as a head-in-the-sand approach to the policies surrounding lethal autonomous weapons, and it cries out for some clarification.

  This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

The post Nobody Is Ready for the Rise of the Killer Robot: Tobin Harshaw appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

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To Speak or Not To Speak…that is the Question Sharon Jaynes

Today's Truth "There is a time for everything, and a season for every  activity under heaven…a time to be silent and a time to speak,"   (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7).

Friend to Friend When Steven was about   seven-years-old, we went snow skiing. For hours I instructed him in how to stand up, ski down, and get up once he fell. Steven fell down, and   fell down, and fell down. He was not getting the hang of it at all.   What's the problem, I wondered. Then I found out. It was me.

"Mom," Steven cried, "If you just quit telling me what to do, I think I could get it."

"Fine!" I said as I skied away in frustration. "Go ahead and do it your way!"

And  you know what? He did. Thirty minutes later Steven was cruising down   the slopes with ease. See I was the problem. My continual instruction   was hindering Steven from working the maneuvers out on his own. The day started out being a skiing lesson for Steven, but ended up being a   parenting lesson for me.

Sometimes the most powerful words are   the ones we withhold. "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…a time to be silent and a time to speak,"   (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7). A wise woman learns the difference.

In the   Bible, Esther is a wonderful example of a very wise woman who knew that timing was crucial. After much prayer, fasting and deliberation, she   went before the King to make a petition for her people. It was an   important request as the entire Hebrew nation was at stake. Rather than grovel at the King's feet in dismay, she very calmly invited him to   dinner. When the King attended the soirée the following evening, once   again he invited Esther to make her request. Once again, she invited him  to dinner the following evening.

At the second dinner party, the  King offered yet a third opportunity for Esther to make her request.   Finally, Esther revealed the evil Haman's plot to annihilate the entire Hebrew nation, which included her life as well. It is an amazing story and I encourage you to read the book of Esther for yourself. But here's a  lesson among the drama. Esther had a very important request for the King. And yet, it was all about timing. Sure, she could have made the   request the first time she approached the King and he extended the   golden scepter in approval. Yes, she could have made her request at the first dinner party when he offered her anything she desired, "up to half  his kingdom." But there was something in Esther's spirit that caused her to wait. The time wasn't quite right.

Even  though the Bible doesn't tell us directly, I believe that Esther was   listening to God. I believe the Holy Spirit was telling her to wait.   Because she asked herself the question, to speak or not to speak, and   then spoke when the time was right, the entire Hebrew nation was saved. That is the power of a woman's words offered at the right time.

"There  is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under   heaven…a time to be silent and a time to speak," (Ecclesiastes 3:1,7). Let's Pray Lord,  sometimes I talk too much. Help me know when to speak and when to keep  silent. And Lord, give me the self-control and courage to do both. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Now It's Your Turn Here is a fun verse to ponder. Job said, "I put my hand over my mouth." Give it a try. I bet your hand is a perfect fit!

Think of a time that you did not speak, and later, you were so glad you didn't.

Part  of not speaking too quickly is learning how to listen. If you'd like a  list of ways to become a better listener, visit my website and click on  the Free Living Life Resources for a List of 30 Hints to Becoming a Good  Listener.