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otnesse · 4 years ago

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Commentary on Peace Walker’s lionization of Che Guevara

Well, guys, as I promised earlier, I’m going to do coverage on a particularly infamous aspect of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, and quite frankly if you ask me, one of its worst elements. Sorry for the delay, didn’t realize that Peace Walker was actually released on April 29 in Japan and not the 30th. I’m basically going to cover the game’s lionization of Che Guevara in the various briefing files, and in particular Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller’s lionizing of that monster. For a bit of background, Peace Walker was the second canon PSP entry into the Metal Gear series, after Portable Ops (yes, Portable Ops is in fact canon, and if you ask me was a superior game to Peace Walker in terms of story and characterizations at least, but I digress…). The game has some controversial elements, namely it being very overtly anti-American even by its usual standards, not to mention pushing left-wing values to a far greater degree. One of these values is in the blatant promotion of Che Guevara in the briefing files (in the main story itself, ie, strictly going by the actual missions you undergo, the Che love was at least limited to the Sandinistas and to Vladimir Zadornov, with it being left ambiguous as to whether Snake and Miller actually were fond of him, and while you could argue that the Sandinistas’ sympathetic portrayal could point toward a promotion, Zadornov’s promotion was definitely meant to be a negative since he was planning on having Big Boss reenact Che’s well deserved execution after successfully changing Peace Walker’s target to Cuba in a disinformation op. The Briefing Files, however, aside from obviously Amanda and Chico, members of the Sandinistas, they also had Big Boss and Miller singing praises for that jerk.).

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My commentary is on how Big Boss and Miller’s promotion of the guy was a complete and total betrayal of their characters, and also a betrayal of the explicit themes of the game, and also how it’s just one sign of Kojima just being a hack writer, not to mention was extremely poorly done even if we were to assume Kojima intended for Big Boss and Miller to be seen as the villains.

Out of character

For the first part, I’ll cover how the gushing for Che Guevara was completely out of character for Big Boss, and especially for Kazuhira Miller, aka, Master Miller from MG2 and MGS, not just going by past entries, but even when taking into account Peace Walker itself and any supplementary materials. I’ll give separate sections for the two of them, since it’s going to be lengthy.

Big Boss

For Big Boss, I’ll acknowledge that he was meant to be the main villain in the MSX2 games, or at least the main antagonist. However, his singing praises for Che Guevara even knowing that tidbit still didn’t make any sense at all, for a variety of reasons. First off, the games, namely Metal Gear Solid 2, strongly implied that Big Boss adhered to a more, for lack of a better term, right wing outlook. For starters, the New York Mirror review for Nastasha Romanenko’s book gave brief coverage on the official reports of what went down on Shadow Moses. In particular, as you can see with the screencaps down below, they specifically called the Sons of Big Boss a “radical right-wing group”, and the group itself for all intents and purposes, was modeled after Big Boss (even Liquid, despite hating his father, nevertheless was influenced by his ideology).

And then we get into the character Solidus, who unlike Liquid, or even Solid Snake, practically idolized his “father” (I put it in quotes since Solidus is a clone of Big Boss, as are Liquid and Solid), to the extent that he was practically ecstatic that Raiden shot out his eye and made him look even MORE like his dad. Aside from that, as you can see below with these screencaps, he was also depicted as a proto-Tea Party type, heck, a proto-MAGA type even, basically wanting America to return to the way the Founding Fathers envisioned it. There’s definitely no way Solidus would have been the type to sing praises for a scumbag like Che Guevara, knowing that, and considering his idolization of Big Boss, it’s also unlikely Big Boss would have sang praises for that creep either.

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There’s also the fact that in MGS3, he wasn’t fond of Communism at all, and had already interacted with a guy similar to Che in many respects (well, other than maybe in terms of sexuality), Colonel Yevgeny Borisovitch Volgin, as both were renowned sadists, and even directly attempted to cause nuclear war. In fact, even before the torture, Big Boss, more accurately Naked Snake at that time, learned a bit about Volgin’s past, in particular his involvement in Katyn, and presumably Bykivnia and Kurapaty as well due to EVA’s references to similar massacres occurring in Western Belarus and the Ukraine, as you can see below:

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His reaction in that conversation with EVA, in particular Volgin’s personal role in executing those guys, had him downright horrified. Bear in mind that Che Guevara actually DID do several of those things himself, shot innocent and unarmed people, and if anything, unlike Volgin who at least allowed Snake to have weapons on hand to fight him, Che outright dithers when confronted with people using guns, even if they’re his own allies based on his interaction with Jorges Sotus, and to a lesser extent Jesus Carreras. It says a lot when even someone like Volgin, a psychopathic mutant, had more honor than Che Guevara. Plus, in Peace Walker, Big Boss when recalling the Cuban Missile Crisis implied that he blamed that event for his ultimately having to kill The Boss (with Miller even noting it was uncharacteristic of him to get into hypotheticals), as you can see in these screencaps below.

The reason that ties in to Che Guevara is because, believe it or not, Che is the reason why the CMC nearly caused the Cold War to become hot. He and Castro even attempted to launch nukes at the United States, and it actually spooked Khrushchev enough that he had to muzzle Che and agree to end the standoff with the United States via the Turkey Deal (or retrieving Sokolov). Knowing that bit, it’s extremely unlikely Big Boss would have been particularly fond of the guy who essentially set the ground for Operation Snake Eater and his having to kill The Boss. And that’s not even getting into how he tried to stop a nuke being launched not just once in the game, but TWICE, and the second time was a perfect opportunity for him to emulate Che Guevara and succeed where Che failed. When Paz hijacked ZEKE, she revealed that she intended to nuke the Eastern Seaboard and pin the blame on MSF under Cipher’s orders, and yet Big Boss fought her in an attempt to stop her. That definitely wouldn’t have been something Che Guevara would have done, and if anything, he bragged to the London Daily Worker that he WOULD have launched the nukes at America preemptively had they been allowed to remain.

Heck, in Portable Ops and even Peace Walker, or at least the backstory for those games, Big Boss specifically served western interests after Operation Snake Eater. In the former, Big Boss was revealed to have participated in the Mozambique War of Independence, and a comment made by Null, aka, Gray Fox, aka, Frank Jaegar, after being bested the second time around, implied that Big Boss had fought alongside the Portugese during that time (Jaegar at that time was siding with FRELIMO), as you can see from the following screencaps:

And in the tape detailing how he and Miller met (not to mention the extended version included in the Peace and Harmony Blues drama tape that was later included in the Japanese version of Ground Zeroes, specifically chapters 1 and 2), it was mentioned that Kazuhira Miller at the time was a mercenary operating with an implied communist rebel group in Colombia, while Big Boss was clearly siding with the Western-backed government.

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I think the events proper for Peace Walker was the first time Big Boss explicitly sided with Communists (not counting Portable Ops, since it’s implied the Russian soldiers renounced their Communism after being abandoned by the Soviet government), and even there, he did it more out of his own personal motives of getting closure regarding The Boss’s true motives after learning she may have somehow survived Snake Eater than out of any liking of Mena/Zadornov’s objectives.

Besides, Big Boss is former CIA, and grunt or not, he'd still need to have at least some degree of knowledge about Che, namely stuff like how Che tried to commit to the Cuban Missile Crisis and make it a hot war, among other things like his instituting gulags in Cuba. And let's not forget, when Gene in Portable Ops tried to pull a similar stunt, Big Boss was genuinely horrified by what he was planning to do.

Kazuhira Miller

Now we get to Kazuhira Miller, aka, Master McDonnell Benedict Miller. Unlike Big Boss, Miller was consistently up to that point depicted as a good guy (probably the closest he got to engaging in villainy was in MGS1 regarding manipulating Snake into arming REX, and even there, he was dead three days before the events of the game, and that had been Liquid who did so). He was also shown to be a huge Che fanboy, and if anything he was depicted as being an even bigger fanboy than Big Boss himself in that game. And Peace Walker also retconned his origins by revealing he was in fact born in Japan with bi-racial ancestry (Japanese and American Caucasian), as he originally was third-generation Japanese American. He was made clear to have more love for America than his own home country of Japan, and only recognized the meaning of peace when talking to his hospitalized mom. He also was mentioned to have been influenced to get into the mercenary business by Yukio Mishima’s suicide, though he does imply that he wasn’t on the same political spectrum as him. Him singing praises for Che Guevara doesn’t work well at all, especially considering that he repeatedly stressed that they not allow another Cuban Missile Crisis to happen, and going by his comments in these screencaps below (in the same briefing file as Big Boss’s uncharacteristically going into hypotheticals, and if anything happened immediately before then), he was fully aware about how Japan itself was almost nuked again thanks to that event (with the only difference being that the Soviets were more likely to nuke them), as you can see with the following screencaps.

Having him sing praises for Che Guevara, whom as I pointed out earlier actually attempted to launch nukes and jumpstart World War III, comes across as ESPECIALLY distasteful knowing that bit, since it comes across as him basically cheering for the guy who tried to wipe out his fellow Japanese, to say little about the Americans, whom back then, he idolized. It would be the same thing as a Holocaust survivor singing praises for Adolf Hitler after narrowly surviving being killed by him. It also doesn’t match up at all with his characterization in MG2 or even MGS1 (and believe me, Liquid posing as Miller or not, his statements to Snake would have been what Miller himself would have said since Snake didn’t seem suspicious at all about him.), the latter regarding the bit about Meryl after she was captured. Even his not being fond of Japan doesn’t cut it, especially when, ignoring that he put that to the side after his mom was hospitalized, the character Sokolov ALSO wasn’t fond of the Soviet Union at all, risked crossing the iron curtain alongside his family to get away from it, and would have been free as a bird had the CMC not happened, and almost got away again until The Boss interfered. Even THERE, however, he still retained at least some degree of love for Russia itself, as when Gene decided to try to nuke Russia (or at least, that’s what Gene led everyone to believe at the time), he secretly went against Gene and adopted the alias of Ghost to aid Big Boss specifically to prevent a nuke from being launched there, being THAT against harming Russia despite hating the Soviet policies. I would have expected Miller to not be fond of Che Guevara at all for that reason.

Overall

The whole thing also didn’t work since if they were meant to be seen as heroes, it ticks off a whole lot of players who are fully aware of some of the crap Che Guevara caused and know his true nature, and regarding painting them as a villain, the problem is that the story DOESN’T depict them as villains for that. Heck, they don’t even STATE any bad things Che did other than maybe dying, and if anything, the way everyone was talking, you’d think he’d walk on water. If Kojima wanted to depict Big Boss and Miller as villains by having him sing praises for Che, the very least he could have done was make sure to specifically reference Che Guevara’s role in nearly causing the Cold War to go Hot by the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis and his being upset at the nukes being removed.

Apparently, if Kojima’s secretary is of any indication, the reason the Che love was in the game was because Kojima himself tried to force in his socio-political views into the game in blatant disregard for the narrative and characterizations therein, as you can see below with links (screencaps will have to be in an addendum post since, unfortunately, I've hit my limit regarding screencap postings):

https://twitter.com/Kaizerkunkun/status/900937994143649792

https://twitter.com/Kaizerkunkun/status/1179860611297153038

https://twitter.com/Kaizerkunkun/status/1190763430497542144

Themes

The Che praise doesn’t work too well with the themes either, since he was not a peaceful man, even called himself the opposite of Christ, and tried to start a nuclear war. It definitely goes against the stated themes of the game, which was peace, not to mention the anti-nuke themes of the overall franchise. Heck, if anything, specifically referencing Che’s attempt at nuking the US and causing Nuclear War, and by extension outright condemning him for it would have worked much better with the themes of anti-nukes, especially considering that they made sure to reference Vasily Arkhipov’s actions during the Cuban Missile Crisis at one point, not to mention referenced both Katyn and the fact that the Turkey silos were already rendered obsolete even before the Turkey Deal made removing them required due to the advent of nuclear subs in Snake Eater earlier. And without the references to that, or any other bad stuff, you’re literally left thinking that he must be a good guy. I’d know because I fell for that myself, especially after getting the game (I didn’t follow the briefing files, but I did follow the cutscenes on YouTube back when it was still in Japan, and I also was baffled as to how people were talking about Big Boss and Miller were Che fanboys since the cutscenes never even pointed in either direction, and if anything, Big Boss nearly being killed by Zadornov would probably point to him NOT liking Che afterwards due to nearly being forced into Che’s fate).

The only thing it did was just have Kojima force in his political and social views, and I’ll be blunt, that kind of crap is something I have distaste in, I hate having propaganda pushed onto me. Ironically, Kojima or at least the Benson books for MGS1 and MGS2, instilled that view onto me. So my anger at Kojima doing that, after learning what Che was truly like in one of the Politically Incorrect Books (either Vietnam War or the 1960s one), is very much personal as well as political and social.

Aftermath

Well, as I said, I did buy into the narrative around the time Peace Walker was released, but then I learned I was being tricked by Kojima after reading the PIG books. I’d argue that event definitely was a watershed event for me. Not only did it have me lose any respect I might have had for Kojima, it also influenced my outlook on life, left me becoming distrustful the second I started picking up how they’re trying to push an agenda instead of, say, actually teaching the material in college. It also may have influenced my later views on Star Wars and Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (specifically, George Luca’s open admission to basing the Ewoks/Rebels on the Vietcong, and especially modeling the Galactic Empire after American soldiers; and Linda Woolverton admitting that she was trying to push a radical feminist agenda in Beauty and the Beast, the same one she tried to push in that awful Maleficent movie. Though I also was becoming disturbed with Belle for reasons other than that bit due to researching the French Revolution, though I will acknowledge Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller’s fanboying of Che Guevara, and in particular their reference to Sartre and his infamously singing praises for Che as “the most complete human being of the century”, certainly worsened my views on Belle, thinking that she may turn out like Sartre and throw her lot with the Jacobins and other groups.). It also left me distrusting of whatever Metal Gear had to say, may have also led to my not liking Chris Redfield after Resident Evil 5, or heck, some of the more anti-American commentary in 5 and other games, and also Dead Rising. It also influenced my decision to become a Dead or Alive fan (especially when before, I wasn’t particularly fond of the game due to the fanservice stuff), and in particular a Tina and Bass fan. May have also influenced my later distaste of Greg Berlanti’s writing of Arrowverse shows, in particular Supergirl starting with Season 2 (though that also had Heroes Redemption as a factor, which predated Peace Walker, thanks to how it changed Claire Bennet).

#peace walker #Anti-Che Guevara #Anti-Peace Walker #Anti-Hideo Kojima #Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker #Youtube

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mahou-furbies · 4 years ago

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Magical Girl Raising Project Limited - character design ranking

Captain Grace

An alright pirate design with enough little details that keep it from being forgettable (I especially like the anchor buckle on her belt, and the earrings and hooks on her hair). The spikes on the coat are what stands out most to me; makes me think of a Mario enemy or something. However I’m not sure how much of a Magical Girl design it is. Like pirates and frills already go together, so the well tested formula (put a miniskirt and frills on it and it’s a magical girl look!) doesn’t really do much. Maybe it’d be better if she had some cutesy detail in there somewhere? Also is that an tail again or what, or some kind of blunt hook? What is it with these unnecessary tails in Magipro designs. 6/10.

Funny Trick

I’ve always liked Funny Trick’s look, and it’s probably because of the pleasant colour palette, unique eyes and two-tone hair (I’m easy to please with two-tone hair). The nail polish and colourful glitter on her fur are also good little details. But apart from that I guess this is only barely strange enough to be any kind of “magical” look rather than just an anime stage magician, but at least that’s pretty close to magical girls already. Also is that a frigging tail again?? At least it goes well with the hair I guess... 8/10.

Kuru-Kuru Hime

It’s a cute design, but when I think of a ribbon magical girl I somehow expected more ribbons? Like this feels like an the higher end of an average magical girl amount of ribbons? Or maybe it’s totally over the top and my perspective is just skewed since I love ribbons and want them everywhere. Either way I like her outfit from neck down, but I’m not that into the headgear, the combo of the bonnet thingy and the weird crown just sitting on top if it looks strange to me. Nice hair tho even if it could use more ribbons. 6/10.

Weddin

I absolutely love Weddin’s design. The muted and light colour palette is very appealing to me, and the dark chains break up the mostly monochrome design so it doesn’t look dull and faded and also give the otherwise super frilly appearance quite a lot of edge. There’s repeating elements (braids in her hair and veil, the same kind of flowers everywhere, flower yellow also appearing in her eye makeup) so it doesn’t get too complicated, and all of them go well with the wedding theme too. The flame... is a bit of an odd touch and I’d rather associate it with a birthday party or Christmas than a Wedding but I guess you can have candles at weddings too, and I don’t find it too distracting.

I’m not a huge fan of the lingerie like look though, but at least visible garters go with the wedding theme and she’s so covered in veils and frills that it doesn’t look so bad. Also the back train looks kind of lazy. But overall still one of my favourite Magipro designs. 10/10.

Rain Pow

A tail again! However this time I actually like it, since she has that rainbow hoop behind her it looks good to stick something through it, and at least it somewhat resembles her twintails.

As for the rest of the design, it has zero frills and ribbons and looks more like some kind of scifi spacesuit than a typical magical girl design, but somehow I still really like it. I think the weird heart hair is just enough to pull it into magical girl territory for me so my impressions are more on the “an unique take on an mg look” rather than “not mg enough” side. Then all the rings keep the look consistent (I absolutely love the rainbow halo) and the suit itself looks alright enough. I also find it interesting how muted the suit colours are for a rainbow magical girl and even the rainbow is pretty pastel, but I figure this is a better choice than all the expected seven colours in all their eye-strainy glory. 9/10.

Postarie

Please put on some pants, that is a shirt and not a dress.

Not too interested in this one, but I find it a commendable effort on making a design on the idea of “postal delivery girl”. Still lots of repeating elements so that’s a plus, especially the back epaulette is such an absurd idea but somehow it works and its wings and the wing hairstyle add the required fantasy touch. Bonus points for the cute birds. 7/10.

Tepsekemei

An inoffensive genie design but I struggle to really have emotions towards it. Butt flower is silly and I have no idea what the things hanging from it are, but at least they’re consistent with her head decoration. Don’t care for the shoulder spikes in an otherwise soft looking design. Huge earrings and multicoloured nails are a nice touch. 6/10.

7753

Also one of my favourite Magipro looks. It feels like the design philosophy here was “gakuran jacket and some frills, and then some hearts. And more hearts! More! Even more!” and I think it’s a great way to go with when designing a magical girl. Using just hearts everywhere makes the outfit cohesive, but since they’re all implemented in different ways it doesn’t get boring. I especially like the little hearts on her hands and under the eye, and the one in her pocket.

Two-tone hair in twintails is also one of the best design elements out there and the hairstyle is quite memorable (and also manages to incorporate the heart motif) and I’m always a fan of caps too. The green eyes and the little bit of green nail polish which you unfortunately can’t see here go well with the otherwise reddish look. Maybe the hair looks a bit too clunky (I only just realised it appears to be tied in a hoop behind her) but I won’t let it bother me. 10/10.

Mana

A solid witch design, I especially love the dimensional cape and hat. I also like the huge collar with the lace detail, but I’m not sure if it works with the hat brim. Not a big fan of the hair, I think it clutters the design. The snake leg accessory feels weird and a bit out of place but I do appreciate the asymmetry and also having something dark to break up the otherwise plain bottom part of the design.. 7/10.

Gekokujou Hana

I tend not to be a huge fan of kimono-based clothes, but this one is an exception I guess. The great colours must play a part in it, and the bottom part is fun. Then the dangly decorations add the correct amount of strangeness so it’s not just a bunny girl in a mini kimono Also, another tail, but this time it’s almost a requirement and I love how ridiculously huge it is (and also repeats elsewhere in her outfit). But really I can’t think of anything to dislike about this, must be the colours and the tail. 10/10.

Archfiend Pam

I believe this is the record on how little clothing you can wear in this franchise... At least she has the personality to pull that off. But that is not a top! At least it’s something new...? The wings fit the description in the story, but I don’t think these blank rectangles look very aesthetically pleasing. I like the tail best, the fur edge makes it a lot more interesting than just the usual demon tail. I don’t know, if the theme is a sexy demon girl this design definitely accomplishes it in a unique way, but also I don’t care for this fanservicey designs. Also not a fan of the hair. 4/10.

Pythie Frederica

Before drawing her for the chibi series I thought she had some kind of a helmet but upon closer inspection of course it’s a veil. But what are the horns?

Upon closer inspection this one is also very fanservicey, in that her “dress” is actually see-through and the only thing covering the critical areas look like thin belt-thingies. At least she doesn’t look like she’s ten... But a major issue I have is the bottom part of her outfit, like how is it supposed to work? Is it one big piece of cloth, or multiple thin ones? What is the “fire” behind her? Is the dark part her hair, or the clothing, and is it supposed to be black or just shading? I do like the stars; otherwise the design gives a more mature “sexy” air, but the little stars everywhere adds a cute element. The colour palette is pleasing, but as much as I like multicoloured hair it doesn’t grant points this time, because the wiggly stray strands look very out of place here and the colour change makes them even more noticeable. 2/10.

Tot Pop

This one really isn’t my aesthetic, I very much prefer the cutesy style and there isn’t really anything ‘magical girl’ about this design. And it doesn’t really evoke the supposed image of ‘pop star’ to me either, like if you remove the guitar I’d think her theme was a prisoner or halloween. Though I don’t really know what a ‘pop star’ should look like anyway, like can’t they wear anything they want, I know Lady Gaga had a meat dress or something. But as of this design, I don’t think there’s anything specifically wrong with it, the colours are pleasing, the details are consistent and it’s not bland or boring either, but it just doesn’t do much for me because of the theme. I like the blood-stained hair and the spiky hair accessory, the long hanging part makes for a nice silhouette. Meanwhile the skulls on her shoulders feel somewhat tacked on, and in general I don’t care for piercings in anywhere else than ears. 5/10.

Pukin

And it’s a tail again. What is it with the stupid tacked on tails on every other design in this franchise? Sometimes it’s not so badly out of place, like if you have an youthful cutesy design, a fluffy animal tail can still add to the cute effect even if it’s otherwise out of place. But Pukin is supposed to be this dangerous and majestic authority figure and a cutesy tail very much doesn’t fit that image. And while we’re on the topic of animal features, the story describes that she has a feather decoration in her hair, but the way it’s drawn as a tiny feather jutting directly up in the middle of her head gives me more the impression of a character whose theme is a baby bird rather than a fantasy prince.

Now that we’ve dealt with the tail let’s get the biggest issue out of the way: I’m aware that there was a time in history when people used to wear these kind of giant ruffled collars but I really don’t care if there’s some kind of history based reasoning. It looks like your head is on a plate and it’s something I can’t ignore. I don’t feel even clowns can pull that off. There is no way getting around this.

When I first read Limited I thought Pukin’s appearance was an absolute mess and an instant 1/10, but upon closer inspection there is stuff I like about it too. She has a good colour palette, great shoes and gloves, and as a friend of multicoloured hair I welcome the yellow hair tips. The big heavy cape balances the small top and pants, and I really like the fur. Earrings go well with the pants too. The theme is a bit confused, or at least I don’t know of any fairy tales about pumpkin prince, but it’s not like I would complain about pineapple or cauliflower princess so that’s not really a problem. 3/10.

Sonia Bean

And we end Limited with yet another excellent design. I like how this manages to look kind of tattered and messy without actually being gross and dirty with the patchwork dress, dustball-like thingies, newspaper clippings and asymmetry. Even her hair looks disheveled. The headgear gives the design an old-fashioned vibe which suits her well since she’s so old. The light palette, soft design elements and ribbons give the look a cute feel, but at the same time she feels suspiciously pale, and the manic expression screams danger, like you can’t reason with this girl. She’s like a ghost of a Victorian era child who wants to play with you but you know you definitely should not follow her.

The design only works if I don’t think too much about it though, like dust is gross and newspaper paper is crinkly and not soft at all, but since we’re magical girls here I can ignore that and enjoy the image the clothing evokes. 10/10.

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Limited average: 6,9.

#magical girl raising project #mahou shoujo ikusei keikaku #mahoiku #my stuff #ranking #ranking: magical girl raising project

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thisweekingundamwing · 5 years ago

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This Week in Gundam Wing (August 18-24, 2019)

GW Tumblr Fandom,

Here’s your weekly round-up from the folks at TWIGW! Be sure to show your creators some love. <333

–Mod LAM

Fanfiction

Knife in Hand (Chapter 35/40) by @amberlyinviolet

Pairings: DuoxTrowa, past DuoxZechs

Characters: 5 pilots, Zechs, Relena, Dorothy, Howard, and Original Characters

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tag / Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Consent Issues, Organized Crime, Assassination, Child Trafficking, Abuse, Federal Agents, Abuse of Power, PTSD, Gender Issues, Recovery, Slow Burn, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

Summary: When Duo learns there’s a hit out on him, he turns to the only person in Chicago he believes capable of helping him. But will the cost of the Broker’s help be too high?

Birthday Snippet by @terrablaze514 for @gundayum

Pairings: DuoxHilde

Characters: Duo, Hilde

Rating: General

Tag / Warnings: N/A

Summary: Duo brings Hilde flowers while she’s recovering in the hospital.

The Bodyguard (Chapters 18-20/20) by @bobo-is-tha-bomb

Pairings: HeeroxReader (female)

Characters: Heero, Relena, Reader (female)

Rating: MATURE

Tag / Warnings: Romance, Drama, Violence, Mild Sexual Content

Summary: When death threats start to get serious, Preventer sends an Agent to protect you. But this man might be more dangerous to you than any death threat.

The Sexy Heero Files (Chapters 1-4/?) by @bobo-is-tha-bomb

Pairings: HeeroxReader (female)

Characters: Heero, Reader (female)

Rating: EXPLICIT

Tag / Warnings: Lemon, PWP, Reader Insert, Romance

Summary: Sexy moments with your sexy boyfriend. And you simply can't resist him.

See who I am by @bobo-is-tha-bomb

Pairings: QuatrexReader (female)

Characters: Quatre, Reader (female)

Rating: Teen and Up

Tag / Warnings: Romance, Drama, Angst

Summary: Four years ago, you entrusted him with your biggest secret and he had broken your heart. You had never seen him again. But business makes your paths cross once more. Can this meeting bring you back together or will you drift even farther apart?

LAM!verse Sequel Preview by @lifeaftermeteor

Pairings: N/A

Characters: Duo Maxwell

Rating: General

Tag / Warnings: Drama, Preventers, post-canon

Summary: The mission will be a dangerous one and Duo needs to assemble a team. But there are (ironically perhaps) too many agents who answered the call. Time to whittle it down.

Broken (Chapter 13/?) by @wingslanding

Pairings: HeeroxRelena

Characters: Heero, Relena

Rating: MATURE

Tag / Warnings: Lemon Content

Summary: One of the greatest love stories never told... this way.

We Will Rise (Epilogue) by @deathscythe-demiguy

Pairings: HeeroxDuo, DuoxWufei, HeeroxWufei, HeeroxDuoxWufei

Characters: Heero, Duo, Wufei

Rating: MATURE

Tag / Warnings: OT3

Summary: Nearly a year after Duo's death, Heero and Wufei are finally starting to heal, together. But what happens when when a discovery is made that will turn everything they thought they knew on its head? Will they hold tight to the new strength they've found in one another, or let their relationship crumble?

Bruised by @deejayers

Pairings: HeeroxDuo

Characters: Heero, Duo

Rating: Teen and Up

Tag / Warnings: Whump, School Fight, Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Short little self-indulgent ficlet. Duo got jumped by high schoolers and held his own. Now he’s dealing with the ache.

High School Infiltration AU (Part 4/?) by @lemontrash

Pairings: N/A

Characters: 5 pilots

Rating: General

Tag / Warnings: N/A

Summary: The pilots infiltrate a high school

Little Moments by @seitou

Pairings: HeeroxTrowa

Characters: Heero, Trowa

Rating: MATURE

Tag / Warnings: Not Canon Compliant, Older Pilots, Fluff, this is mushy, no beta we die like men, I did not intend for this to go this far, Light Angst, Like Barely There Angst, self indulgent as all hell, I swear English is my first language, probable OOCness, No Plot/Plotless

Summary: Trowa and Heero together on a rainy day

Fanart

Heero and Duo dolls by @janaverse

Deathscythe Buds and Shenlong Buds by @likethemusiq

Other Fandom Works (Cosplay, Gunpla, Scans, etc.)

Quotes

Teenagers by @robo-rad

Some of my favorite quotes from @incorrectgundamwingquotes

ZING, Trowa. Geez.

Duo and Explosives

2x5 Surgeon AU

It’s one of these tabs, I swear...

Master of Sneaking

Between us bitches...

Headcanons, Meta, and Discussions

Colonization Beyond the Earth Sphere by @terrablaze514

Musings on Tallgeese implications by @polygonalfish

Gunpla

Tallgeese II Vernier by @christianmswanson

MG Wing Proto Zero and displate by @soviejames

Wings WIP by @gundayum

Edits, Caps, and Scans

Quatre Coping Badly by @incorrectgundamwingquotes

Duo is #done (tw suicide) by @incorrectgundamwingquotes

Endless Waltz screencaps by @janaverse are available in their tags

Clowning Around by @janaverse

1x2 Sparking Joy, and again by @janaverse

Heero and Duo + Fashion with contributions by @janaverse, @ameliaglitter, and @incorrectgundamwingquotes

GoL Scans by @disturbed02girl

Duo’s entrance (with Heero and Relena)

Heero and Relena

Quatre and the Flamingos

Duo and Deathscythe

Duo and Deathscythe discover Wing

Epyon

Duo and Heero’s early connection en route to Earth

Calendar Events

Cocktail Fridays with @gwcocktailfriday

Post responses on Friday between 3-5PM!

This week’s prompt is here

Gundam Wing Unorthodox Undercover Work Mini Bang

Sign-ups are complete, and info is available here.

Be sure to follow @thisweekingundamevents for more info!

Rhythm Generation: Shooting Stars and Measure of a Year (a 25th anniversary zine project)

@gundamzine is orchestrating not one but two fandom zines - both to be released as FREE PDFs on April 7, 2020! Stay tuned to the Tumblr (or Twitter or Instagram) for more info!

Applications open September 1 (application details are available here and on the FAQ).

Pre-Orders go live November 1. It will include BOTH an order for the PDF zine (free!) and swag (again, free!!)

#gundam wing

14 notes · View notes

ultrace · 6 years ago

Text

Soundtrack Update

Tomorrow will bring another batch of soundtracks going onto eBay, for which I will make a post when they go up. For those of you looking to keep convenient track of these, here is a link to my seller page so you can see all of whatever I have up at any given time. The first batch of CDs still has a little over 4 days to go!

Some of you have asked questions. Questions are good! They show that I’m more interesting than annoying, mostly.

Do these soundtracks contain spinecards (obi)? Most of them do. Some may have been acquired without them or I may have misplaced them in the very early days of my collecting. If this is a deal-breaker, ask about any CD you need to.

Can you combine shipping? You sure can. I’ll be more than happy to send multiple CDs and charge only the total amount of shipping.

Is there a full list of all the soundtracks that will be auctioned? There is now. I have painstakingly written down the names of each of the soundtracks to be auctioned, 238 in total. It was a little less than I thought; some of them took up large space on the shelves and skewed my calculations. For the sake of your dashboard, the full list is under the cut.

These soundtracks have been photographed and tested:

Akumajo Dracula / Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow OST

Akumajo Dracula Apocalypse OST

Akumajo Dracula Best (Otakara printing)

Akumajo Dracula Best 2 (Otakara printing)

Akumajo Dracula Nocturne in the Moonlight (Castlevania: SOTN) OST

Akumajo Dracula X

Akumajo Dracula: Gallery of Labyrinth (Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin) OST

Castlevania Chronicle Akumajo Dracula

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon / Concerto of the Midnight Sun OST

Anamanaguchi: Dawn Metropolis

Atelier Iris Bonus Soundtrack CD

Bangai-O Spirits Sound Collection Plus

Banjo-Kazooie The Soundtrack

Bastion OST (signed by composer Darren Korb), x2

Baten Kaitos OST

Biohazard 2 (Resident Evil 2) Complete Track

Borderlands 2 OST

Borderlands OST

Breath of Fire III OST

Broken Thunder: Thunder Force VI Doujinshi Soundtrack

C64: 64 Reasons to Live

C64: Best of David Whittaker

C64: Best of Fred Gray

C64: Best of Matt Gray

C64: Best of the Maniacs of Noise

C64: Best of Tim Follin

C64: Creatures the Soundtracks

C64: Thalamusic

C64: Way of the Exploding SID

Capcom Trilogy Box - Capcom Game Music Vols. 1, 2, 3

Chrono Trigger OST

Dance Dance Resolution Ultramix 2 Limited Music Sampler

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme Limited Music Sampler

Dead Rising OST

Devil Crash / Alien Crush

Devil May Cry Limited Soundtrack Box - OSTs for Devil May Cry 1, 2, 3

Diablo 15th Year Anniversary

Disgaea Custom Soundtrack

DK Jamz: Donkey Kong Country OST

Dodonpachi & Dodonpachi II OST

Donkey Kong Country 3 Dixie Kong's Double Trouble OST

Dragon Force Complete Album

Ecco: Songs of Time

Einhander OST

Electronic Arts Music Sampler, "Signature Sounds"

ESPGaluda OST

All Sounds of Final Fantasy I & II

Final Fantasy III OST

Final Fantasy IV OST (gone missing)

Final Fantasy V OST

Final Fantasy VI OST

Final Fantasy VII OST

Final Fantasy VII Dirge of Cerberus OST Limited Edition

Final Fantasy VIII OST Limited Edition Limited Edition

Final Fantasy IX OST Limited Edition

Final Fantasy X OST

Final Fantasy X-2 OST Limited Edition (Rikku Keychain

Final Fantasy XI OST Limited Edition

Final Fantasy XII OST Limited Edition

Final Fantasy XIII OST Limited Edition

Final Fantasy Tactics OST

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles OST

Front Mission 3 OST

G.S.M. Capcom 3: Final Fight (Missing booklet and obi)

G.S.M. Captom 4: Street Fighter II (Missing obi)

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Full set of 20 CDs

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Vol. 1: Super Mario Bros.

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Vol. 11: Nazo no Murasame Jiyo

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Vol. 3: Donkey Kong Jr.

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Vol. 7: Light Gun Games

Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~ - Nintendo Dream Special Disc: Super Mario Bros. 3

Gears of War OST

Ghost in the Shell Megatech Body Cd. (European Printing)

Golden Axe: The Music

Gradius Arcade Soundtrack

Gradius III

Gradius V Soundtracks

Grand Theft Auto Vice City Official Soundtrack Box Set

Grandia II ~Deus~

Grandia II ~Povo~

Guiity Gear X Heavy Rock Tracks

Guilty Gear Original Sound Collection

Konami Music Masterpiece Collection (Complete 15-CD set)

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Soundtrack (Black/Gray Cover)

Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Soundtrack (Gold Cover)

Makaimura (Ghosts n' Goblins) Ongakutaizen Box Set

Metal Gear Solid 4 OST

Suite Dragon Quest II

That's Atari Games Limited Edition Box - Vols. 1 & 2 in special case

The Last Blade OST

The Music of Command & Conquer

The Music of Command & Conquer: Red Alert

X-Men: Children of the Atom OST

Ys: The Oath in Felghana (Wanderers from Ys) Premium Music Box

Yuzo Koshiro Best Collection Vol. 1

Yuzo Koshiro Best Collection Vol. 2

Z.O.E. Zone of the Enders OST

Zwei!! OST

These soundtracks have not been photographed and tested. If for any reason the discs have failed, they will not be auctioned.

C64: Last Ninja 2 Music Collection (disc failure, discarded)

C64: Last Ninja 3 Music Collection (disc failure, discarded)

C64: Last Ninja Music Collection (disc failure, discarded)

Capcom Music Generation Limited Edition ~Legendary Wings~

Capcom Music Generation: Rockman 1-6 (1st printing with cardboard sleeve)

Capcom Music Generation: Rockman X1-6 (1st printing with special box)

Fatal Fury / Last Resort OST

Genso Suikoden OST

Gokumakaimura (Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins) OST

Gunstar Heroes Sound Collection

Halo 2 OST Vol. 1

Halo 2 OST Vol. 2

Halo 3 ODST OST

Halo 3 OST

Hudson's CD Game Music Collection '93

Hundred Swords OST

Justice High School (Rival Schools United By Fate) OST

Katamari Damacy OST

Killer Cuts Killer Instinct (cardboard sleeve has been sliced in half and put in jewel case)

Konami Game Music Vol. 1

Legend of Mana Music Selection

Legend of Mana OST

Lost Technology: Thunder Force V OST

Lumines Remixes

Mario Kart 64 Greatest Hits Soundtrack

Mars Matrix / Giga Wing

Marvel vs. Capcom OST

Mass Effect OST

Maximo OST

Metal Gear / Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake Music Collection (from the MGS Premium Pack)

Metal Gear >> Solid Snake Music Compilation Red Disc

Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons of Liberty OST

Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater OST

Metal Gear Solid Music CD (1 open, 1 sealed)

Metal Slug 3 OST

Metroid Metal: Varia Suite (signed by the band)

Mortal Kombat II: Music from the Arcade Game Soundtrack (also Mortal Kombat)

Music From Ys II

Music From Ys III: Wanderers from Ys

Musik: Mortal Kombat 3 & 4 Arcade Soundtrack

N3 Ninety-Nine Nights OST

Namco Game Sound Express Vol. 18 Air Combat 22

NiGHTS into Dreams Perfect Album

Ninja Blade OST

Ninja Gaiden (XBox) Original Sound Trax

Panzer Dragoon Azel RPG Memorial Album

Parasite Eve OST

Phantasy Star 1st Series Complete Album

Planet Harriers OST

Pocket Fighter OST

Pretty Soldier Sailormoon Another Story Music Collection

Quest For Glory V: Dragon Fire OST

Radiant Silvergun Soundtrack+

Ridge Racer V OST

Rockman 2 The Power Fighters

Rockman Dash OST

R-Type Delta OST

R-Type Final OST

Salamander ~Again~ (Otakara printing)

Salamander 2 OST

Salamander Remixes

Samurai Spirits

Samurai Spirits (Scitron 1500 series)

Samurai Spirits the Best 10th Anniversary Special

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game OST (Arcade Block exclusive)

Sega Ages Soundtrack The Best Plus

Sega Game Music Vol. 1

Sega Game Music Vol. 2

Sega Game Music Vol. 3

Sega Power Cuts 1 (cardboard sleeve version, has been sliced in half and put in a jewel case)

Sega Power Cuts 1 (Jewel Case promotional copy)

Sega Virtual Sonic 5-CD Set with Box Case

Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana) Original Sound Version

Seiken Densetsu 3 OST

Sengoku Musou (Samurai Warriors) OST

Shadow Hearts OST

Shin Contra (Contra: Shattered Soldier) OST

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne OST

Shin Samurai Spirits

Shin Sangokumusou 3 (Dynasty Warriors 4) OST

Shin Sangokumusou 4 (Dynasty Warriors 3) OST

Shin Sangokumusou 4 (Dynasty Warriors 5) OST

Shin Sangokumusou Kyuukyoku Onban

Shinobi (PS2 version) OST

Silent Hill 3 Official Soundtrack

Silhouette Mirage OST

Snatcher Zoom Tracks

SNK Game Music

Soul Calibur OST

Sounds of Onimusha

Star Ocean Till the End of Time Sound Complete Box (Empty box only! Someone gave it to me.)

Star Ocean: The Second Story OST

Starfox 64: Original Cuts (cardboard sleeve has been sliced in half and put in a jewel case)

Storm of Progear OST

Street Fighter EX2 Arrange Album

Street Fighter Zero / Street Fighter Alpha OST

Street Fighter Zero 3 / Street Fighter Alpha 3 OST

Strider Hiryu 2 OST

Suite Wizardry II Legacy of LLylgamyn

Super Mario 64 Original Soundtracks

Super Mario 64/Waverace 64: Original Cuts from the Hottest N64 Games

Super Metroid Sound in Action

Tales of Eternia OST

Tales of Symphonia OST

Technosoft Game Music Collection Vol. 10: Technology - Thunder Force V

Technosoft Game Music Collection Vol. 2: Excursion - Herzog Zwei

Technosoft Game Music Collection Vol. 9: Voyage - Neorude

Tekken 3 Arcade Soundtrack 001 ex

Tempest 2000 The Soundtrack

Tenchu OST

The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim OST

The King of Fighters '95

The Minibosses: Brass

The Music of Suikoden Konami Sampler Disc

The Protomen

The Protomen Present: A Night of Queen (signed)

Threads of Fate Music Selection

Tobal 2 OST

Treasure Quest the Soundtrack

Turrican OST

Vagrant Story OST

Valkyrie Profile OST

Valkyrie Profile Arrange Album

Valkyrie Profile Covenant of the Plume OST

Valkyrie Profile Silmeria OST Vol. 1 Alicia Side (with limited edition "Sound Complete Box")

Valkyrie Profile Silmeria OST Vol. 2 Silmeria Side

Vampire: The New Warriors OST

Vandal Hearts OST

Very Best of Ys

Video Game Orchestra (signed by some members)

Video Games Live Volume One

Viewtiful Joe & Viewtiful Joe 2 OST

Virtua Cop Soundtracks

Virtua Fighter 4 OST

World Heroes 2 Jet OST

World Heroes Perfect OST

World of Tanks OST

Xenosaga OST

Xexex OST

Ys V OST

Yu Suzuki: Hang-On/Space Harrier

The following soundtracks are bootlegs (usually SonMay) and therefore of little actual value. They will probably be auctioned as a single lot:

Grandia OST

Dance Maniax OST

Dance Maniax 2nd Mix OST

Arc the Lad OST

Arc the Lad III OST

G-Darius OST

Chaos Legion OST

Breath of Fire II OST

Music From Ys

Virtua Fighter Maximum Mania

Pretty Soldier Sailormoon S Game Music

SaGa Frontier OST

Rock Man (unidentified CD, GAME-089)

Rockman X Alph-Lyra Arranged

Panzer Dragoon OST

The King of Fighters 96

4 notes · View notes

fapangel · 7 years ago

Note

WWII planes question- which is better, machine guns or cannon? Followup, does this change based on what country you are and therefore available guns? Do some kinds of planes like one more than the other?

Oh boy, a good fighterplane question! This exact question has been the subject of intenseand furious debate both during the war years, and especially amongmodern simulation nerds and angry Wehraboos.

Aerial gunnery has a great number of factors toconsider - destructive potential against the target, exteriorballistics, (which affect accuracy and range,) weight of fire, ammosupply/duration of fire, reliability and redundancy, and especiallythe weight efficiency of the armament - destructive potential perpound, which affects how much performance you sacrifice to lug theguns around. I'll get into the technical discussion of all thosefactors and how they manifested in different guns/aircraft during thewar, but there's two big caveats to cover first.

First - one must remember that to a significantdegree, questions of destructive power, accuracy, ballistics, et al.were a moot point, as most pilots didn't have the skill to reliablyland deflection shots (or snapshots, for that matter,) and weretrained to fill their windscreen with the enemy before firing. Fromdead astern at 50 yards, it really doesn't matter whatyou are shooting. There's outliers - such as Japanese Zeros with twin7.7mm pecking away at Wildcats - but those were the exception.

Second -for all the obsessive sperging various internet autists have lavishedon the topic, actual combat experience reminds us that weaponry mustbe matched to the target. On lend-lease.ru, one of the most valuableresources I've ever found on the internet, Soviet fighter pilot N. G.Golodnikov (who flew I-16s,Hurricanes, P-40s and P-39s during the war) saysbluntly that they quickly removed the .30 caliber guns from the wingsof their (early-model) lend-lease P-40s to save weight, as theyfound the twin Browning .50caliber machine guns in the cowling to be more than sufficient!Against the light, mostly unarmored Luftwaffe fighters they werecontending with - and the ranges they were shooting at - twin .50swere more than enough. (Theywould repeat this with their lend-lease P-39s.)

Now, for thetechnical discussion. Machineguns/autocannons have to make tradeoffs between several categories ofperformance - weight of shell fired, muzzle velocity, rate of fire,and gun weight. For instance, compare the famous 20mm Japanese Type99 Mark I - an incredibly weight-efficient weapon at only 51 pounds(the American aircraft version of the Browning, the AN/M2, weighedmoreat 61 pounds!!) It paid for this, however, witha terrible muzzle velocity of only 600m/s and sluggish rate-of-fire,only 520 rounds a minute - but the weight efficiency was crucialfor the power-challenged Zero, which kept it light enough thatmaneuverability more than compensated for the cannon's ballistics bysetting up point-blank shots. Compare that to the SovietShVAK 20mm cannon, which was similar to the Hispano or the MG/151-, a good rate of fire (800 rounds/minute, equal to the AN/M2,) anice, high muzzle velocity - but heavy, at a solid 40kg(88 pounds). The reasons for all this were fairly simple - to achievea higher muzzle velocity, the barrel and action had to contain moregas pressure from a more powerful cartridge (and possibly a longerbarrel), in turn requiring a stronger action/chamber, which meantthicker, which meantheavier. Likewise, anaction capable of cycling faster had to be stronger to survive theheavier battering it took, and the heavier the shells it was slamminginto the breech, the harder this was - so a higher ROF required moreweight as well. (This tended to synergize with better muzzlevelocity, as the action was already stronger for that reason aloneand the extra gas power available helped with loading - but you couldstill trade ROF for weight even then. The Japanese Type99 Mark 2 is a good demonstration of that; delivering a solid750m/s at only 34kg/75 pounds, but with an abysmal 480 rounds/minuteROF; worse than the original!)

Clearly, anyconceivable combination of tradeoffs could (and were) made, for alldifferent purposes. Both the Soviets and the Germans installed veryhigh-velocity, high-power, heavycannons on ground-attack aircraft (NS-37and BK-3,7respectively,) for tank-busting, as the only precision(non-cluster, non-napalm)direct-fire munition available for hitting hardened, mobile pointtargets was a cannon. (The famous GAU-8 of A-10 fame is the finallegacy of that dynamic - it didn't die till the PGM revolutionarrived!) And of course evenbigger cannons were used (57mm on the “Teste” Mosquito foranti-shipping work, the 75mms in B-25s, etc.) But these aren'tdebated over as they're clearly specialized weapons for specializedtasks that no other gun could accomplish.

Thus, the onlyapplication machine guns and cannons were really competing in wasfighter-bomber armament, and therefore that's where the debate did -and does - center. Since the monster guns mentioned above were simplytoo massive and heavy to be practical or useful on fighters, thislimits discussionto medium and heavy caliber machine guns versus20mm to 30mm cannons.

Again, we shouldremember that at close-range, bothends of this spectrum were perfectly lethal -asGolodnikov attests, rifle-caliber machine guns, with their impressivehigh rate of fire, could actually cut tails and wings right off enemyaircraft if you weren't stingy with ammo. Onthe far opposite end of the spectrum, he observed that the37mm M-4s horrid ballistics andROF didn'tmatter if you simply closed in close before firing. Ofcourse rifle-caliber machine guns had problems penetrating deep intobombers from the stern angle, big slow cannons were poor for takingsnapshots and both would've benefited greatly from the optionof effective long-range fire. Plus,these extremes of heavy cannon/light MG were usually mixed with heavyMG/light cannon to cover any weaknesses (Spitfires with .303s and20mm, Yak-9s with 12.7mms and 20mm cannon, etc.) Thoseexamples, in turn, show that the “balancing” armament was almostalways 12.7mm-13mm heavy machine guns, or 20mm high-velocity cannons- because both had high muzzle velocities, good rates of fire andwere flexibly potent against almost any target, ground or air.

In short, thewhole thing really boils down to 12.7mm HMGs versus 20mm cannons, andthat's where most of the debate has centered.Thisis especially because US forces explored moving to 20mm-primaryarmaments during the war, and because Wehraboos are eager to assertthe 20mm master race's ascendancyover .50 dumb yankee scum. Comparinghigh-velocity 20mms(Hispano/ShVAK/MG-151) versus 12.7-13mm, (MG-131, AN/M2,Berezin UB,) onefinds their external ballistics and ROF to be roughly similar; cannonvelocities ranging from 700-840m/s to machine-guns 750-890m/s, andROFsfrom 700-900 rounds/minute. Cannonshad far superior boom, of course, but also weighed as much as twomachine guns at least - so the argument, ultimately, comes to this:are cannons betteror worse than an equivalent weight of HMGs?

TheUsual Suspects passionately argue for the greater efficiency ofcannon with various metrics - often trying to quantify thedestructive power of the guns in some arbitrary fashion (total joulesof energy delivered over time and such) whichare further spun into firepower/weight coefficients like so.These analysiesare clean, neat, fully quantifiable, and have about as much bearingon reality as “muh stoppanpower” 9mm vs. .45 arguments do.They tell you nothing about howmunitions actually destroy a target. Aircraftare destroyed in one of two ways:

1.Score an effective hit against one of the three critical systems(engine, fuel tank, pilot.)2. Destroy theairframe's integrity.

Cannonsare obviously the most effective at #2, as their high-explosiveshells detonated on impact and did blast/frag damage to the immediatestructure. How many hits were required depended on the target and hitlocation, of course, and I couldn't find anything like authoritativeinformation, but my gut feeling is that, onaverage:

*four 20mm cannon strikes on a wing will probably do the job (more forbigger/tougher planes, less if they hit the wing root, which is alsowhere fuel tanks usually were,)

*two to the elevator(rendering the ship uncontrollable,)

*two to four to the empennage, toblow it off,

*one or two for a liquid-cooled in-line, two to four for a radial,

*oneinthe cockpit (the angles this is possible from depend on theaircraft's cockpit armoring,)

-and the fuselage... differs,sincethe fuselage aft of the pilot seat/radio was mostly empty space. Themore of it there is, the more hits required to make it crumple up.Plus,compared to the wing spars, the fuselage bears less structuralload in the air (which is why at least one B-17 camehome with a massive hole in its side just fine, but cracked in halfafter landing.) Asan example, Thunderbolt ace Robert S. Johnson's P-47 soaked up atleast24 20mm cannon shells from a Bf-109 sitting dead astern and hisship still came home (as he states in his autobiography, at leastthree detonated against the armor in the seat-back, meaning they flewthrough existing holes in the fuselage.) He also took fiveshells in the right wing, four in the left, two to the empennage(blowing away half his rudder,) andone shell that detonated in the cockpit, near his left hand. Soaccording to my cute list, Johnson should've been dead ten timesover, P-47 ruggedness or no. Thisalso demonstrates that dispersionmaters; hadthose five shells in his right wing all landed close together nearthe wing root...? (Alsonote that 20mm cannons couldanddid utilize AP or semi-AP ammo to go for the three critical systems,but this reduced their HE effect, and without the volume-of-firemachine guns enjoyed, getting hits in the right places was harder.For air-to-air they tended to stick with HE.)

Heavymachine guns, on the other hand, are king of kill option #1, as theywere often mounted in greater numbers, fired faster, and oftenbecause ofdispersion (from wing-mounted guns vibrating and/or convergenceissues,) they generally had far greater chances of landing a goldenBB somewhere important (like the pilot's skull.) This was enhanced bytheir armor-piercing ability - since they carried no fuzed explosive,they'd pop right through a fighter's aluminum skin and keep goingtill they met something substantial - like afuel tank, or thepilot. And they were typically AP-I (armor-piercing incendiary) toensure they'd do something nasty once they got there. Agood concentrated burst to a wing root or tail could indeed do enoughstructural damage to destroy the aircraft, but it was mucheasier to just go for the fuel tanks, engine, or pilot himself.

Thisall was exacerbated by the other tradeoffs cannons and machine gunsbrought - cannons are far more volumeefficient,which was vital for aircraft like the Bf-109 (you don't reallyrealize how small a Bf-109 was till you meet one in a museum.)Especially for the 109 and its thin wings, mountings were limited tothe propeller hub, the cowling, and the wing roots, almost mandatingcannon to achieve sufficient firepower. Incidentally, it meant thattheir whole armament had zero or near-zero convergence (same for theFW-190,) which allowed exploitation of the gun's full range (againstbombers) and with concentrating damage on target for good effects.(Evenplanes with a choice of mountings, like the Spit and Hurricane,mounted cannons in the wing roots for that reason.) Machine guns,naturally, were limited to two 12.7/13mms in the cowling at best, andthe rest in the wings, where greater vibration and the necessity ofconvergence dispersed their pattern a lot more. (Pre/Early war USaircraft had two .50s in the cowling and the .30 cals in the wings,before the six-fifties armament debuted.)

Thenconsider the targetsthey were shooting at - Americans were trying to nail fast, nimblelittle German fighters that had modest to no armoring, and Germanswere shooting at lumbering bombers and... well, fuckingP-47s.The Germans, twiceover, had literally no other choice for armament but cannons.

Whichbrings us back to the Wehraboos again and their favorite pasttime -bagging on the US Army Air Corps for not going all-20mm. Theyloveto give the Browning AN/M2 shit, because it was relatively heavy27.6kg(61lbs)and had a relatively low rate-of-fire (750-850 rounds a minute.) Thatdoesn't compare well to the best aircraft-mounted heavy machine gunof the war, the Russian BerezinUB, at 21.5kg (47.4 lbs,) with a ROF of800for prop-synchronized guns and up to 1050 for wing-mounts.It even had good muzzle velocity. (TheGerman MG131 weighed a mere 37 pounds and fired at a hefty 900 rounds aminute, but paid for it dearlywith a horridvelocity fo 700m/s - this was mostly because the gun had to be tinyto fit in the Bf-109s cowling.) Soyou get a lot of shitposting about how four Hispano-Suiza cannons(weight unloaded, 368 lbs or so) would've far better than six AN/M2Brownings (366pounds unloaded or thereabouts.)

Asusual, theWehraboos are always wrong.

Entirelyaside from the Hispano being a twitchy,jam-o-matic pile of shit who's need for armorer hand-fitting andbabying doomedUS efforts to reliably mass-produce it, QUAD-DAMAGE isn't thepanacea it's made out to be. One limitation is that cannons really,really don't fit in cowlings so well, which is why the FW-190 carriedtwo MG 151s in the wing roots, and two wing-mounted guns (which hadthe usual convergence problem, but without the rate/volume of fire tomitigate it and less volumeto store ammo.) They also have more vibration, and thus dispersion,further complicating one's efforts to land sufficient concentrationof firepower to blow important bits off a plane.

Still,four cannons is afantastic amount of firepower, and the volume of fire (actual numberof bullets in the air) wasenough to make higher angle deflection shots and snapshots a lot morelikely to land hits... unlessone of them jammed (especiallywith the damn Hispano.) The AN/M2 might've been heavy, but it alsoinherited the ground-based M2's rock-solid reliability. Thicker,heavier chamber, barrel, and so on isn't great for weight, but italso makes a gun a lot more tolerant of temperature extremes, poorammo lots, gremlins, negative space wedgies etc. Plus,you had redundancy. Ifone gun jammed, you were down 1/6th your firepower; if one cannonjammed, you were down by 1/4th.

Andthen there's dispersal problems. “Convergence” relates to theneed to aim wing-mounted guns inward sotheir rounds all land in the same place some fixed distance ahead.The closer to centerline the guns are (such as in the wing root) thelesser the angle, and the tighter the pattern will be further awayfrom the perfect “convergence range.” Closer or further away andthe rounds land in a wider pattern, which can significantlyaffect lethality. As theWikipedia page shows, convergence schemes that aimed to maximizeeffectiveness over the widest span of ranges abounded. Theycould get pretty complex. Pilots/units could also modify them toaccount for changing theater conditions, differenttactics or even personal preference.

Withfour cannons, however, the wing-root mounts have only slightconvergence issues, and the wing-mounted ones could converge at...one point. (Assuming ships like the P-51 could've installed cannonsin the wing-root at all; withthat thin laminar-flow wing, I'm not sure they would've fit...) Gunswere typically harmonized in pairs (one on each wing) so thesix-fifties gave you three possible convergences, and the cannons,two. The machine guns couldexploit their greater volume of fire to cover more sky withlead, which made a bigdifference when taking snap-shots or high-angle deflection shots.Cannons, with their lower volume of fire, really needed toconcentrate their firepower on one point to achieve proper structuraldestruction (you could mix AP/HE or all AP, but then you were reducing your target from the entire aircraft to the three criticalsystems...) More dispersed fire is superior for deflection shots(especially as rounds are coming in from higher angles that can rakethe whole planform, giving you the whole smorgesboard of criticalsystems to aim for - and there's no armor on the top of the canopy!)Conversely, cannons are better for delivering lots of firepower fast,when you don't have time for a leisurely tracking shot (especiallyrelevant with the sanic acceleration of most German fighters, beforeyou factor in boom'n'zoom fighting - play a simulator and you'll seewhat I mean-) but American fighters suited to boom’n’zoom were not volume-challenged and could set all their guns on asingle close-range convergence to achieve similar results (such asthe FUCKIT WE'RE GOING TO 8 GUNS Jug.)

Andthe final clincher was the AN/M2s muzzle velocity of 890m/s - prettymuch the best of the war (even the UB only clocked in at 814.) Theflatter trajectory made deflection shooting easier, but only incomparison to other HMGs, not M2-versus-Hispano; the Hispano made upfor its other failings here with an 870m/s velocity, leaving even theexcellentShVAK in the dust. Nordid this matter much for distance; a pair of cowling mounted .50s aren't going to out-snipewing-root mounted Hispanos. But it did matter for actual firepower,as it gave the excellent .50 calAP-I rounds that much more oomph to penetrate - sometimesthrough a decent amount of fuselage structure and reinforcements tohit a fuel tank or engine on the other side. Whenyou're spreading lead around to maximize the chances of the goldenBB, the performance of each BB matters - andthe US had the hardest-hitting HMG of the war to use.

There'salways porquenolosdos.png of course - had the Germans managed to makea sufficient number of heavy bombers that didn't conveniently setthemselves on fire,and had the Hispano not been a French fustercluck, four .50 calibersin the wings and two 20mms in the wing-roots would've been theabsolute best of both worlds (imagine a Spitfire with four .50sinstead of six .303s and the same cannons.)

Soin the context of the perennial WWII argument - which I'm sure you'veheard before - I find it a realstretch to say that cannons were superior to the six-fifties -especially considering that American pilots didn't have heavy bomberformations to fight. Andspeaking in general, thechoice really, really rides on what your intended targets are, andespecially on what you can actually fit into the aircraft inquestion. A HMG/cannoncombo is hard to beat. Two synchronized low-ROF, low-velocity 13mmscrammed into the cowling aren't gonna cut it alone, but if you've gota bigger plane to fit something like Brownings (as the Soviets did,with early P-40s and P-39s) or you just cram twice as many in thewings, it's great. The Germans had room for neither, so QUAD-CANNONwas really the closest they could get to that ideal loadout - andgiven their aircraft's sanic acceleration, suitability for energytactics and heavy bomber formations to contend with, it probably wasthe ideal armament.

So, in general -

- if you’re in a fast-accelerating fighter that likes to boom’n’zoom, your firing windows will be short, at close range, so deflection shooting is minimized and weight of fire matters the most, as you’ve little time to deliver enough dakka to kill the target. Advantage - cannons. Head-on attacks against a heavy bomber are identical.

- if you’re in a slower-accelerating fighter that can actually turn, you’ll often be taking “tracking” shots, with plenty of time to pour fire into someone; the challenge will be aiming and scoring. Advantage - machine guns.

- if you’re flying an interceptor, a cannon/machine gun combo is highly desirable, as you’ll want long-range (400, 500m!) firepower to engage bombers, and machine-guns to deal with fighters. A perfect example is the Spitfire.

Cannonsand machine-guns eventually merged when Soviet MiG-15s met AmericanF-86s over Korea and both found their armament wanting. Withthe speed of jets, F-86s couldn't put enough firepower into a MiGwith just machine guns, and the slow-firing cannons of MiGs justcouldn't put enough bullets into the air to land a hit. This isprecisely why the modern rotary-barreled 20mm aircraft cannon wasdeveloped - it's a merging of the machine-gun's ROF and the cannon'sfirepower in one package.

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herbalhealth-treatment · 6 years ago

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11 High Calcium Rich Foods to Prevent Osteoporosis Naturally

Calcium is one of the most essential nutrients that our body needs. An adult male or female needs around 1100 to 1400 mg of calcium on daily basis. In women healthy calcium intake is vitally important to prevent osteoporosis naturally. Obtaining calcium from foods is best way, here is list of 11 high calcium rich foods which can help prevent and cure calcium insufficiency and increase bone density.

- Milk is best source of calcium, protein and other vitamins like vitamin D. One glass of cow’s milk contains about 235 mg of calcium which is nearly 33% of total body requirement. Cow’s milk is low on saturated fats too so pretty safe source of calcium for men and women to prevent osteoporosis naturally.

- Tofu probably contains highest amount of calcium. One cup of tofu supplements nearly 86% of total calcium requirement of an adult body. Tofu is one of the 11 high calcium rich foods that work for men and women to prevent bone fragility and rigidity. It is beneficial for menopausal women as it controls drop in estrogen level and relieves symptoms of menopause.

- Amarnath leaves are referred as pseudo-cereal but are very high in mineral and vitamin content. A cup of cooked Amarnath leaves supplement nearly 140 mg of calcium. You also get decent dosage of magnesium, manganese, folate, iron and phosphorous. These also provide high dose of vitamin A and C. the leaves of Amarnath are great foods for bone health.

- Collard green is leafy green vegetable in high calcium foods chart. One cup of collard green gives 25% of total daily needs of adult body. Compared to other green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale which are also high on calcium green collard is preferred as better foods for bone health because of low-oxalates. High content of oxalates in spinach and kale make calcium less-available to body.

- White beans and winged beans are other 11 high calcium rich foods. Not all beans are sources of calcium, although all the beans are rich in protein, folate, iron and other minerals, these two beans are particularly high calcium foods and excellent to prevent osteoporosis naturally.

- Almonds are good sources of calcium which along with other calcium rich foods work as useful ways to increase bone density. Almonds supplement nearly 8% of total calcium needs of body but for that you need to eat nearly 20 nuts. So these are good supportive foods to maintain optimum calcium intake but may not fulfill complete requirement alone.

- Fatty fishes are not only high on omega -3 fatty acids but also good sources of calcium. If you can eat non-veggie food fishes are packed with nutrition and best diet one can eat to stay healthy and fit. Salmon are packed with nearly 35% of total daily needs of calcium. These are sitting in high calcium foods chart.

- Yoghurt or a cup full of low-fat curd is great way to add calcium to your diet. Yoghurt and curd both are good foods that provide vitamin D along with calcium so that your body utilizes the mineral to grow bones and strengthen muscles. These foods are great for growing children as well for optimum physical growth.

- Cheese is another milk product which gives decent amount of calcium with small serving. But make sure that you eat right variety of cheese to get sufficient calcium. Not all varieties of cheese supplement similar amount of calcium. Softer cheese has lesser calcium compared to harder one. Parmesan cheese has most dense content of calcium about 33% of total RDI in one cup.

- Sesame, celery, chia and poppy seeds are other foods for bone health. These seeds contain good amount of calcium and other minerals and nourish muscles and bones. A tablespoon of these seeds generally provide 9% of total daily needs of calcium.

- Figs contain highest percentage of calcium compared to all types of dried fruits. These are also good sources of vitamin K and potassium. Regular intake of fried figs is good for digestion as well.

Always take care of your water intake while eating high calcium foods. Low water intake can cause digestive disorders due to calcium rich foods.

For even simpler and convenient way you can use Calcivon tablets along with Freeflex capsules to get dose of range of vitamins including vitamin D, powerful antioxidants, minerals like iron, potassium, magnesium and calcium for strong bones and healthy muscles. These pills in combination give all the benefits of foods that provide vitamin D, iron and calcium to keep bones, joints, muscles, dentures and hairs healthy.

Not only you get stronger musculoskeletal system by using these supplements, but also higher muscular endurance and nervous system, these are purely natural supplements that come with zero side effects. These are suitable for growing children to elderly and excellent for women to protect and treat them from bone related disorders.

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#calciumdeficiency #bonehealth #strongbones #bonestrength #bonedensity #osteoporosis

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justbritishmotoring · 8 years ago

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Some may not realize that the MG brand and logo are now in the hands of a Chinese firm, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, a state-owned firm based in Shanghai. They are the largest Chinese automaker by sales with over 5 million units sold in 2014.

Brand names that are exclusive to SAIC are Maxus, MG and Roewe, but they have joint production with such brands as Baojun, Buick, Chevrolet, Iveco, Skoda, VW, and Wuling. The MG that is the subject of this article is known as the MG GT, a medium-sized four-door fastback sedan which was launched in 2014 and produced in China. SAIC maintains a UK facility that does engineering work for its MG-branded products and until recently did some low volume assembly of MGs there for the UK market.

The subject of this article, MG GT It is powered by either of two engines, both gasoline, inline four cylinder of 1.4 or 1.5 liter. The smaller one being a direct injection unit producing 110KW at 5600 RPM and the larger one 95KW at 5500 RPM. Gearboxes are manual six speeds, automatic six speeds or a seven-speed dual clutch unit. Zero to 100 KMH (62 MPH) range from 9.5 to 9.8 seconds depending on the engine and gearbox. Trim levels for the MG GT include names such as Fashion, Elite, Luxury, and Flagship. Equipment puts these modern cars a long, long way from our “classic” MGs with such things as a start-stop system, smart charging regenerative braking, cruise control, power windows, door locks, something called, InkaNet 4.0 Telematics, GPS, Voice Control, Mirrorlink connection and Blue tooth connectivity. A dual zone auto air conditioner or in lesser versions, a manual air conditioner with a pollen filter. For safety, there are dual front airbags, dual side airbags, side curtain, ABS rear camera and other features. However, SAIC specs some of these features only on the top of the line version. Classic MG folks will relate to the leather seats or leather/cloths seats and the “Sports Instrument Panel” So these cars at least in the non-base line version are right up there with current automotive technology and features.

The models of this MG GT come in a pair mounted on a fancy decorative raised plinth with a clear cover. Unlike most models in 43rd scale there is no indication what model company produces this pair except for the chassis of the cars that states “SAIC Motor” in English and some Chinese characters which are presumably a translation. The cars and the box they come in, unlike most all models, have absolutely no indication of the maker of the actual model. The MG logo is prominent on the outer box and the mounting plinth so presumably the car maker SAIC have “licensed” this model product but normal licensing rules and regulations in China may be much different than in the rest of the world as the Chinese are well known for unapproved knockoffs and clones.

Of the two cars, the red one is quite stock and the white one is a sort of rallye or race version, having an internal roll cage, only the driver’s seat which is a sort of Recaro style bucket seat with a four-point seatbelt evident. Both are left-hand drive as suitable for China where most of the real car are sold. The red car has a sunroof in a dark tinted glass, an all-black interior and chrome allow style wheels. There is even a tiny grid replicating a heated the rear window. MG octagon logos are prominently displayed on the front edge of the bonnet and hatchback. In the modern style there is minimal chrome trim, most being black. Interestingly the front and rear license plates on the MG GT state “Morris Garages” so somebody has done their MG history homework.

Looking closer at the rallye version which is in white with a non-sunroof flat black roof with a very large MG logo picked out in gloss black. There is black and red decorative striping on the flanks, a black wing on the rear somewhat like what might be found on some Subaru WRX cars. The rear tail pipes are different than the red street car in that they are well separated instead of being side by side but in both cases they are chrome plated. The chassis shows a fair amount of detail such as the full exhaust system, front and rear suspensions, transverse engine sump, end on gearbox and some floor sheet metal detail. Judging by weight all indications are that both of these replicas are diecast, not the now more common resin material used in Asian made 43rd scale miniatures. The metal diecast medium is an indication that these models will be made in relatively high production numbers compared to the resin issues. The model maker has taken the trouble to create two wheel styles, the MG GT street car with silver alloys and the rallye car with large diameter black alloys. Both being the open spoke type, so brake discs of two different diameters are shown behind the wheels. Nice attention to detail here.

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Note: Thanks to John F Quilter for this article. Please note that John got the photos of the real cars from the China Auto Web who did not respond to multiple attempts to obtain permission to use them.

MG GT Models in Minature Some may not realize that the MG brand and logo are now in the hands of a Chinese firm, …

#MG GT #models #SAIC #toys

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darthluffy · 5 years ago

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Rewatched season 2 of Legacies cause #quarantineLife. It works better than it felt at times in the moment. The fact that they took a full 5 episodes to bring back everyone’s memories of Hope(4 eps for Lizzie to remember, ep 5 to remind everyone, ep 8 for Hope to really return to the school) is kinda impressive. If you asked me before the season I’d have assumed it would’ve only taken 3 max. Instead they let relationships and problems build without her, and it works.

Then from episode 9 on it becomes about dealing with the aftereffects of Josie getting tricked by Clark and the way it spirals out of control and continues to escalate. And again it works.

What feels out of place is episode 8, which seems like someone had the idea to have Santa supplex the Grinch and refused to let it go. Even then it’d be fine if Landon hadnt immediately been brought back after just leaving one episode ago. Let the bird stretch his wings for an ep or two before dragging him back.

The other thing that’s given the season an odd feel was the inclusion of a several new characters and Clark. Start with mudboy Clark, he’s a whiny ass who honestly sucks as a major villain, which is why they brought him back to serve as a Big Bad Red Herring, before killing him off more permanently. Still not sure why he needed so much time in the weird Christmas ep but it ends with him being beheaded so I’ll take it. Also the Necromancer returning was a smart choice for a Big Bad, he’s insane, smart, cruel and actually has a personality(a bad one but still). 5 stars for replacing mud boy with Ted.

The actual new characters is where it gets a little odd. First introduced is Kim, Kaleb’s sister, which I dont understand at all. She’s in 4 episodes, 3 of which she has real screentime, and none of it makes sense. A ton of time was devoted last season to pointing out how dangerous the school could be to an ordinary human and then they just have Kim come be a library intern during the middle of the year. Only for her to leave after, shockingly, neary being killed cause the school is incredibly dangerous to an ordinary human. Zero plot relevance, not used for character growth, why bother?

Next is the new sheriff, who has a thing for Alaric and is in and out of several eps, and her kids, both of which seem to have a thing for Hope. Or we so we can guess from their 15 minutes of screentime in the first 3 episodes they’re in. Its a litte wierd, mostly because they were hyped into thinking they’d be more major characters by social media/promo material. And there’s still some time for that depending how the last few eps play out. I’m fine with them though, it added something to the eps before Hope returned to the school and they weren’t shoehorned into the main plot the way Kim was. And there is potential to use them more in season 3 if wanted. No real value added but they dont take away from the story.

Then you have the 2 side characters that play major roles for a couple of episodes, Wade and Alyssa Chang. Wade feels odd at first, a comic relief character to make fun of, then he gets to star in his own ep. It feels a little forced but it’s not bad and Wade and Landon have a nice little friendship that works. Also it doubles the amount of easy insults for Lizzie which I’m always a fan of. Alyssa Chang is someone who was mentioned a few times and turns out to be a basically an evil Lizzie, except more bitchy than crazy. She’s a bitch, a dumb one as she’s lucky Hope didnt disect her for sending the Saltzman’s to the prison world, but kinda interesting. We see some of her backstory, enough to feel that she has a real(if dumb) motive. And as she’s currently alive there’s some potential in the last eps or next season for more involvement. Basically they’re both decent side characters, felt a little forced but solid inclusions.

I’ll leave Sebastian for last, so let’s hit Jade next. In the prison world we get 3 trouble teens and Kai. Wolf teen is dead, Kai is dead(probably permanently), and Wendy doesnt really have enough scenes to judge besides fanning Josie’s early pryomanic tendecies. Jade on the other hand we’ve seen alot of since she was introduced and I like her. She’s got an interesting character arc(be a lovesick puppy, accidentally kill love interest, shut off emotions, get thrown in hell, become a real monster, have emotions turned back on, and become a lovesick puppy again). I’m being facetious but it’s kinda accurate and I’m ok with it. She has good chemistry with Josie(everyone does) and I want to see more of her. Provided she survives it’ll be interesting to see what they do with her next season.

And finally Sebastian... honestly I despide Sebastian’s character. The actor does a great job with him, and I enjoyed alot of his scenes without Lizzie. Which is the problem, his entire reason for existing seems to have been ‘give Liizzie a hot bad boy to bang.’ He’s used fairly well for Lizzie’s character development at first, up until she decides to start banging him(which is sadly in character for her). But I hate the ‘evil ancient vamp finds redemption so he can fuck a 16 year old’ storyline, and there isnt much to Sebastian besides that. When they all end up in the prison world it seems like his role will be to be their ally there but instead him and Lizzie skip out on the plot in a way that hasnt been seen since the height of Ezra and Aria in Pretty Little Liars. Even then there’s a moment where it seems he might forcibly turn Lizzie into vamp and I thought, ‘Oh, this is why he’s here.’ But it doesnt happen and instead he stays and dies in the prison world. And it feels like as permanent a death as you get in this world. So why? Why have him eat up so much screentime if that’s all? I’d have to sit and add it up but I imagine that he got as much screentime as MG, Kaleb, and Raphael(poor Raph, you’re definitely already dead) combined betwen ep 2 and ep 13. That just seems like a waste for what we got from him.

Basically a good season, they leaned more heavily into Hope and the twins are the main characters than they has first season. I do miss Penelope though. And please, find some more teachers for season 3. With Emma and Dorian gone Alaric is the only adult left. All their classea must be online.

#this got long #you get a cookie if you read all that #legacies #quarantine life #josie saltzman #jade #hope mikaelson #mud boy being dead is a win though #so annoying seeing Hope/mud brains shippy shit in legacies fandom #if you block like 3 people it all disappears though #and i know alot of people like sebastian. nothing like broody teen vamp with abs and an evil streak to turn a fandom stupid #lizzie saltzman #more twins and Hope please #also rafael is likely already dead and it’d say 75% Hope kills Landon in finale now

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courtneytincher · 5 years ago

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How Strange: Nazi Germany's Fighter Planes Helped Save Israel

The incessant accidents took a grim toll of the pilots, however. On October 15, after providing ground support to an Israeli counter-offensive, the S-199 of Squadron Leader Mordechai Alon developed an engine problem while making a second landing attempt after his landing gear refused to lower.When Israel declared independence from British colonial rule in May 1948, it immediately went to war with the neighboring Arab states. One of the first weapons Israel acquired was a fighter plane designed by a country that had sought the extinction of the Jewish people.The German Messerschmitt Bf.109 — later re-designated Me.109 — was the most advanced fighter plane of its time when it first saw combat in 1937 in the Spanish Civil War. Flown by German pilots in support of General Franco’s Nationalists, Bf. 109s secured air superiority over Spain and allowed Fascist bombers to terror bomb cities nearly unopposed.The Bf.109E model was upgraded with 20-millimeter cannons and a new Daimler Benz 601 engine that increased its speed to 354 miles per hour. It swept its opponents from the skies in the invasion of Poland and the Battle of France.Only when it met large numbers of Royal Air Force Spitfires in the Battle of Britain did it meet its match — resulting in the Nazi war machine’s first major defeat.While superior fighter aircraft began entering service on all sides by 1942, Nazi Germany continued upgrading and producing 109s until the end of the war. Much of this production took place in heavily industrialized Czechoslovakia, which had been annexed by Germany in 1938. After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the Czechs decided to reopen production by making their own version of the 109, the Avia S-199.The Czechs planned on using their stock of Daimler Benz 605 engines intended for use in 109 aircraft. However, a factory fire destroyed the engines, forcing the Czechs to find an alternative. They settled on tapping a stockpile of Jumo 211F engines and propellers used by Nazi Heinkel-111 twin-engine bombers.Needless to say, the 211F wasn’t designed to be a fighter engine — and caused endless problems when fitted to the 109's airframe. Not only were the engines underpowered, but the 109’s original nose-hub cannon was incompatible with it, so the Czechs instead strapped MG 151 cannons under the wings using World War II-era Rüstsatz VI add-on kits. These worsened the S-199’s flight performance.The Czechs produced 532 S-199s, which served in the Czech air force for 10 years under the unaffectionate nickname mezek — “mule” — because of their difficult handling characteristics.War in Palestine:In the wake of violent anti-Semitic pogroms in Tsarist Russia during the 1880s, European Jews had begun immigrating to Palestine as part of the Zionist movement, which promoted Jewish nationalism.They joined a local population of Middle Eastern Mizrahi Jews that had lived alongside Arab Muslims and Christians for centuries.The growing Jewish population led to increasing tensions with local Arab communities, and many Jews and Arabs began to see themselves as being in a zero-sum competition for control of the territory. Palestine at the time was under British colonial rule, which clumsily attempted to pacify both populations, satisfying neither.As violent clashes erupted, Jewish groups began forming militias. Haganah, the largest group, was led by David Ben-Gurion. There was also the more hardline Irgun under Menachem Begin, and the violent extremist Lehi or “Stern Gang.”After World War II, these groups launched a guerilla war against colonial rule that led the United Kingdom to begin withdrawing in 1947 after a deadly attack on the King David Hotel. A United Nations resolution calling for separate Jewish and Arab states cleared the way for Ben-Gurion to declare the creation of the state of Israel on May 14, 1948.Fighting between Jews and Arabs for control of Palestine had already begun well before then.Britain and France had been decolonizing its other holdings in the Middle East, too, and the newly independent Arab states of Egypt, Transjordan, Iraq and Syria intervened against Israeli forces, which they viewed as illegitimate.Egypt in particular had inherited a lot of military equipment from the British, and soon Egyptian Spitfires were strafing Israeli-held airfields, while C-47 transports converted into bombers began bombing Tel Aviv.The leaders of the newly formed Israeli Defense Force, drawn out of Haganah’s ranks, scrambled to put together an air force even before the declaration of statehood.Haganah already operated an assortment of light civilian planes such as Piper Cubs in its Sherut Avir — “air service” — which flew reconnaissance as well as bombing missions. The pilots held bombs and grenades on their laps and threw them out the side of the cockpit. Clearly, that wasn’t going to cut it much longer.But Israeli agents had difficulty purchasing military equipment because of an arms embargo. Finally, Otto Felix found a Czech arms dealer willing to sell Avia S-199s at the then-exorbitant rate of $180,000 each, equivalent to $1.8 million today. The price included equipment, ammunition, delivery, and flying lessons for the Israeli pilots, many of whom had only civilian flying experience.The first order for 10 S-199s was followed by another for 15. When the Israelis subsequently received an offer to purchase far more capable P-47 Thunderbolts at a lower price, they turned it down.The new air force also lacked qualified pilots and mechanics, so it assembled a rag-tag group of volunteers, adventurers and low-paid mercenaries known asMachal or Machalniks.Of the 609 personnel that served in the Israeli air force in its first war, 181 were Israeli-born, 182 came from the United States, 80 were South African and around 50 each hailed from Canada and the United Kingdom. The remainder came from at least a dozen other countries. Around four-fifths were Jewish.On May 6, 1948, two of these volunteers and eight Haganah pilots left for the Czech Republic to begin training on the S-199s.Four Broken Aircraft Save Tel Aviv:On May 18, an Egyptian C-47 dropped bombs on Tel Aviv’s central bus terminal, killing 42 people and wounding more than 100.When the Israeli pilots learned of the attack, they demanded to return to Israel early. Their Czech instructors objected that the volunteers hadn’t even received basic combat training, and only the experienced pilots had any chance of operating the aircraft safely. But the volunteers got their way and headed back to the Middle East.Plans to ferry the S-199s directly became impossible because of the arms embargo. Instead, technicians dismantled the S-199s. Each was shipped over in two separate flights by enormous long-range C-46 Commando transport aircraft. These flew first to Corsica and from there to Ekron — now Tel Nof Air Base — in Operation Balak, which began on May 20.In an omen of things to come, the first S-199 was lost on May 23 when its C-46 transport crashed attempting to land in the fog, the dismantled fuselage sliding forward and killing navigator Moshe Rosenbaum. On other occasions, aircraft carrying the 199s were impounded and their crew jailed at various airports for their violation of the arms embargo.It wasn’t until noon on May 29 that the first S-199s were assembled and in functioning order under the newly-christened 101 Squadron. The appellation “Messerschmitt” for the knock-off aircraft was shortened to Messrs — which also means “knife” in Hebrew.By then, an Egyptian column of around 2,300 men drawn from the 2nd Brigade mounted in hundreds of trucks was heading toward Tel Aviv, accompanied by armored cars and 10 Matilda and Mark VI tanks. The force stopped near Ashdod, also called Isdud, delayed by a destroyed bridge only 30 kilometers away from the Israeli capital. If it completed repairs to the bridge, the column was poised to capture Tel Aviv the following morning.Without even a single test flight, the four operational Avias were dispatched directly into combat. The pilots included Ezer Weizman and Mordechai “Modi” Alon — both combat veterans that had served in the British Royal Air Force — plus Lou Lenart, a Pennsylvania Jew with experience flying for the U.S. Marines over Okinawa and Eddie Cohen, who had flown for the South African air force. Each fighter was armed with two small 154-pound bombs.Upon spotting the Egyptian vehicles, the four S-199s swooped down on the column as 40-millimeter anti-aircraft shells tore up the sky around them. Releasing their bombs, the fighters made three passes, machine guns chattering and cannons barking — but only briefly, because three of the four aircraft’s cannons immediately jammed.Cohen’s Messr, likely struck by flak, crashed in flames close to the air base of Hatzor. Alon’s airbrakes malfunctioned while returning to base and a wingtip plowed into the ground while landing.In this “pathetic little attack” in the words of the 101 Squadron history of the event, the Israeli air force had lost two aircraft and one pilot.But the Egyptian column ceased its advance entirely, flummoxed to have been attacked from the air. “We have been heavily attacked by enemy aircraft, we are dispersing,” explained a radio transmission to Cairo.The Egyptian force came under several more air attacks and repelled a major Israeli counterattack on June 2 — but it never resumed its advance toward Tel Aviv.This seemingly minor raid is credited by some as having preserved “the existence of Israel as we know it.” This is far from certain. While many see the column’s halt as marking the turning point of the war, it is debatable whether the Egyptian force even intended to enter Tel Aviv.Yet the mere presence of the S-199s had made an impact — and would soon do so again.The following morning, two Avias were back in action strafing an Iraqi column. A bird struck Weizman’s airplane in the cockpit, while a 199 piloted by Milton Rubenfeld sustained damage in a clash with Egyptian fighters. Forced to bail out, Rubenfeld narrowly escaped death at the hands of locals that assumed him to be an Egyptian pilot.Egyptian Spitfires retaliated by strafing two unassembled 199s on May 30, and the squadron was pulled back to a new air base at Herzliya a week later.While flying on June 3, Modi Alon spotted two Egyptian C-47s escorted by two Spitfires over Tel Aviv — the 16th raid of this kind. Swooping down on the formation, he chased off the Spitfire escort and then shot down both of the C-47s — the first aerial victories of the Israeli air force.After that, the bomber attacks on Tel Aviv ceased for good. After being celebrated with gifts of wine and chocolate by the locals, two American pilots designed the logo for the unit that remains today, a winged skull wearing a fighter pilot’s helmet.On June 8, American Machal Gideon Lichtman and Alon engaged their Messrsagainst four Egyptian Spitfires on a bombing mission in an ironic rematch for the two types that had battled over England eight years earlier. Lichtman’s guns shot one of them down.The Crash-Prone Menace:On June 11, the United Nations organized a truce. This gave the Israelis time to assemble five additional Avias to replace the ones they had lost. Other new aircraft included two P-51 Mustangs fighters and two B-17 bombers smuggled via Puerto Rico. More aerial clashes ensued when the truce ended in a month later.On July 6, Maurice Mann’s S-199 reportedly shot down a Syrian AT-6 Texan trainer bombing a kibbutz, but his wingman Lionel Bloch crashed over the Golan Heights while pursuing another Texan. Syrian records report he was shot down by the tail gunner of the second Texan, Muhi Al Din Wadi, who died from his wounds after landing.Two days later, on a strafing mission against the Egyptian air base at El Arish, American Bob Vickman’s Messr was seen crashing into the sea — either shot down by flak or possibly a victim of his own machine guns shooting off his propeller.On July 18, Alon scored a third kill when he downed the Spitfire flown by Wing Commander Said Afifi Al Janzuri.Yet it soon became evident that the greatest danger to Israeli pilots came not from enemy fighters and flak, but from the Avias themselves.To begin with, the S-199’s narrow landing gear made the aircraft unstable while landing and prone to flipping over — a problem that the original Bf.109 suffered from, as well. It soon became a routine for neighboring Yemeni farmers to pull down flipped over Avias with wooden poles. Such accidents were made even worse by the side-locking canopy which could not be opened by the pilot.The Avia’s MG.151 cannons jammed more often than not. The nose-mounted 13-millimeter MG 131 machine guns regularly fell out of synchronization for unknown reasons — with the horrifying result that many Avia pilots shot off their own propellers.The enormous propellers — intended for use on large bombers — also created intense leftward torque, making landings and takeoffs especially dangerous. The S-199’s accident rate grew so bad that Israeli pilots began taking bets each time an Avia attempted a landing on whether it would crash or not. When Avias flew alongside other aircraft, they always landed last so that any wreckage from a crash wouldn’t obstruct the other planes.Serviceability rates for the S-199s were abysmal, and no more than four of the 25 were ever in the air at the same time. The volunteer mechanics were unable to decipher the aircraft’s difficult hydraulic systems or its engines, which on several occasions fatally overheated.On July 18, the United Nations organized a second truce. Neither side had any serious intention of negotiating, and instead frantically recruited, reorganized and rearmed despite an arms embargo. Israeli agents concluded a contract for 50 Spitfires IXs. The superior aircraft cost only $23,000 a piece — $230,000 in 2016 dollars — and began arriving in September 1948. When the second ceasefire ended on October 15, the new Spitfires permitted the Israeli air force to establish air superiority.The incessant accidents took a grim toll of the pilots, however. On October 15, after providing ground support to an Israeli counter-offensive, the S-199 of Squadron Leader Mordechai Alon developed an engine problem while making a second landing attempt after his landing gear refused to lower.Streaming fumes from its engines, the 199 suddenly nosed down into the runway and burst into flames while Alon’s pregnant wife watched in horror.Two other Avias crashed while attempting to land the same day and a third landed on its belly after being hit by anti-aircraft fire. Morale grew low and the Machal became infamous for their raucous partying and their habit of stealing vehicles for use at the airfield.The last S-199, which had been impounded in Rome for four months, finally arrived in November. S-199s flew a few more combat missions. One crashed while taking off in November, while another shot off its propeller in December and only barely made it back to the ground. When 101 squadron redeployed to Ramat David that winter, Weizman, the new squadron leader, recommended they leave the Czech-built fighters behind.Fighting in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War came to an end in March 1949. A year later, Israeli inspectors decided to scrap the decrepit aircraft.Of the 25 Avia 199s, at least five had been lost as a result of enemy fire, six were destroyed attempting to land, three flipped over taking off, another is believed to have shot its propeller off, one had its cockpit shattered by a bird and two were destroyed on delivery. And that doesn’t count all the incidents in which damage was repairable.Ezer Weizman went on to further glory as a Spitfire pilot — and controversy, as it appears he deliberately led a deadly attack on neutral British Tempest fighters on Jan. 7, 1949. In his later years he became air force commander, defense minister and, finally, the president of Israel from 1993 to 2000, during which he advocated strongly for the peace process with the Palestinian Authority.Today 101 Squadron flies F-16s out of Hatzerim air base. The only surviving S-199 can be seen there, in the Israeli Air Force Museum.This first appeared in WarIsBoring here.Image: Flickr.(This article was first published in 2016.)

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brieflyuniversallyfun-blog · 7 years ago

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Expertise A Exotic Holiday In Sihanoukville Throughout Your Tours To Cambodia

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robertsmorgan · 8 years ago

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Are Energy Drinks Bad for You?

Energy drinks are popular among gamers, students, athletes, professionals, and anyone who has to drive overnight from Milwaukee to St. Louis. They’re big business, too. Americans spent $12.5 billion on energy drinks in 2012. Market experts predict that number to climb to $21.5 billion in 2017.[1] It’s clear that these drinks are only growing in popularity. With so many people guzzling them down every day, can energy drinks really be that bad? The short answer is yes.

Energy drinks can be devastating for your health. They contribute to heart problems, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, anxiety, insomnia, and a host of other health risks. In some rare cases, energy drinks have even proved fatal.

A Growing Public Health Concern

In 2011, 16-year-old Sara Milosevic went to a party where she consumed several pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks. A few hours later she was vomiting violently. Other partygoers just assumed she couldn’t handle her alcohol. At 11 pm, the teen called her parents to come pick her up. By 3 am, Sara was dead. An autopsy revealed that her blood alcohol content was only .04—not even enough to be considered legally drunk. Sara’s father, a chemist, believes the energy drinks caused her death.[2, 3]

In 2011, mere days before Christmas, 14-year-old Anais Fournier suffered a fatal heart attack. In the 48 hours before her death, she consumed four energy drinks. In total, Anais consumed 480 mg of caffeine—less than one-tenth the official fatal dosage of the stimulant, but almost five times more than the recommended limit for adolescents. Doctors speculate that the energy drinks agitated a pre-existing genetic heart condition.[4]

It’s not just teens who are affected. In 2015, 28-year-old Martin Bowling suffered a heart attack after consuming eight energy drinks at a pub. Bowling was rushed to a hospital and survived. He had been spending $150 a week on energy drinks.

“I’d been drinking them for about seven years, and it was like I’d become addicted,” said Bowling. “Now I see those drinks as death in a can.”[5, 6]

Even popular athletes can succumb to the toxicity of energy drinks. In 2003, professional wrestler “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was hospitalized with severe heart palpitations. He believes that his then habit of consuming 3-5 energy drinks every day was a primary cause of the health crisis.

“I think I’m dying, dying for sure,” Austin recalls of the event. “My heart’s beating so hard it feels like it’s going to crack a rib jumping out of my chest. My heart might be doing 160 or 180 beats per minute. My legs are shaking and I can’t make them stop. I’m sure I’m having a heart attack.”[7]

Between 2004 and 2014, energy drinks have officially been a factor in at least 34 deaths.[8] Unofficially, perhaps many more. Caffeine deaths are often attributable to other factors and may be severely underreported and undiagnosed. Some doctors suspect that the actual number could be much higher.[9] Thousands of people have been hospitalized with symptoms of energy drink overdose, including insomnia, anxiety, convulsions, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and other cardiovascular complications. The wings that energy drinks give you might just come with a harp and halo.

How Your Body Reacts to Energy Drinks

We all need a little energy boost now and then, but there are healthier options. Energy drinks are a chemical cocktail of caffeine, refined sugar, and other ingredients. Some of which, like herbs and vitamins, may even sound healthy. What is it that makes energy drinks so dangerous?

One study looked at the effect that consuming just one 16-ounce can of a leading brand of energy drink had on basic, vital functions. The findings? Blood pressure jumped an average of 6.6 points within thirty minutes of consumption, and norepinephrine, a stress hormone, increased by 75%. Norepinephrine also enhances the production of cortisol, a fat-storing hormone, significantly increasing the risk of weight gain.[10]

Energy drink manufacturers maintain that their products are safe when consumed in recommended amounts. Do you know what the maximum recommended intake is? For most brands, it’s two or three cans per day. For some, it’s only one.

These warnings are easy to miss. Manufacturers usually hide them in small print on the back of the can with the other information that few people bother to read—that’s if the warning is on there at all. Make no mistake, beverage companies want you to drink as much of their product as possible.

There are two main health dangers of energy drinks—neurological and cardiological. In other words, your nervous system and your heart. These problems are caused by the very same ingredients that make you feel energized—staggeringly high levels of caffeine and sugar.

Energy Drinks Are High in Sugar

Energy drinks can contain up to 78 grams of sugar per serving. That’s 20 teaspoons of sugar every time you drink one.[11] Admittedly, that’s the high end of the scale, but these drinks average about 30 grams of sugar and 280 calories a can. That’s not health food. If staying trim is your goal, drinking just one energy drink makes your job 280 empty calories harder. That’s about 35 minutes of burpees.

Even if you work out enough to stave off diabetes and weight gain, sugar can still damage your health. Excess sugar is one of the leading contributors to heart disease. One study found that people who consumed 25% or more of their daily calories as sugar doubled their chances of dying from heart disease.[12]

Many companies have sugar or calorie-free versions of their product, but what are they using to replace sugar? Artificial sweeteners like aspartame may be even worse for your health. They can interfere with your gut biome, damage your metabolism, encourage obesity, and contribute to diabetes.[13, 14,15]

Energy Drinks Are a Source of Caffeine

Exact amounts vary, but the average energy drink contains about 70-100 mg of caffeine—about as much as a cup of coffee.[16] That doesn’t sound very dangerous, and to a healthy adult, it usually isn’t. Caffeine is toxic but generally safe in small amounts. The problem is the combination of caffeine and other stimulants in an energy drink, as well as lesser understood ingredients like taurine. This chemical cocktail can trigger existing health problems, including genetic disorders that you may not even know about yet.

This is likely what happened in the case of Anais Fournier. Anais had a heart condition called mitral valve prolapse, a relatively common condition that affects 1 in 20 Americans.[4] She consumed only two energy drinks in the 24 hours before her death. That doesn’t sound like much, but, when combined with her condition, it was enough to bring about tragic consequences.

Energy Drinks and Children

Fournier’s unfortunate case is unlikely to be the last. The use of energy drinks by young people is on the rise. Culture and media influence our diets in many ways, both directly and indirectly. Because of this, the youth are likely to see energy drinks as just sort of a cooler kind of soda. A 2014 study estimated that 68% of adolescents and 18% of children under 10-years-old consume energy drinks.[17]

While caffeine is safe in small amounts for healthy adults, it’s a proven health risk for children. Nearly 50% of the people who overdose on caffeine are under 19 years old.[18] Adolescents should limit themselves to no more than 100 mg of caffeine a day. Children age 4-6 should consume no more than 45 mg daily.[19] For children younger than that the number should be zero.

Unlike cigarettes and alcohol, there are usually no age restrictions when purchasing energy drinks in the U.S. Other countries have wised up. In Sweden, for example, most energy drinks can only be sold in pharmacies and selling to children is banned.[17] The World Health Organization (WHO) confirms that energy drinks have a “proven negative effect on children.”[17] The bottom line is simple—children should never consume energy drinks.

Energy Drinks and Alcohol

Eager for new profits, energy drink companies started marketing to the bar crowd in the early 2000’s. They urged bartenders to promote mixed alcohol and energy drinks. Sorry to be a buzzkill, but combining energy drinks with alcohol substantially increases the dangers of both. Caffeine is a stimulant, while alcohol is a depressant. Combining the two can imbalance your system.

One way this manifests is as a “delayed drunk” feeling. The stimulant masks some of the sensory cues on which you normally rely to determine your level of intoxication. In other words, you’re drunk, with the same loss of cognition and motor skills as usual, but you don’t quite realize it. This means that you will likely drink far more, and far faster than you normally would.

I know that some people might think this sounds like a pretty good thing. You get to party longer, right? Well, that’s what energy drink marketers want you to think.

Caffeine doesn’t change your actual blood alcohol level, just your perception of it. That means that as you drink more to hit your buzz, all the usual dangers of drinking are magnified. One study found that people who mixed alcohol and energy drinks were more than twice as likely to drive drunk and far more likely to be a passenger in a car with a drunk driver.[20] As you feel the need to drink more to feel the same high you’re used to, your risk of alcohol poisoning also increases. If all that isn’t enough, your hangover will be worse, too.[21]

A few years ago, energy drink companies were eager to capitalize on a potential new revenue stream. They started selling pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks. The FDA warned consumers to avoid these dangerous drinks and sent warning letters to energy drink companies calling the concoctions a public health threat.[22] Pre-mixed alcoholic energy drinks quickly disappeared from U.S. store shelves soon after. That won’t stop you from ordering a mixed energy drink in a bar or mixing your own, but I strongly caution against it.

The Effect of Energy Drinks on Athletic Performance

Energy drinks remain popular among athletes for their supposed performance-enhancing effects. Some people don’t care about side effects as long as it provides results. Well, if the idea of a heart attack in the middle of a kickboxing match doesn’t deter you, maybe this will: energy drinks ruin long-term athletic performance.

Studies on the actual performance-enhancing effects have revealed mixed results. Some studies find a minor, short-term boost, while others have found no performance-enhancing effects at all.[23] The truth is that there’s no magic potion for winning inside those cans. Any perceived performance-enhancing effects come from the simple formula of caffeine plus carbs, and there are healthier ways to get those.

Our bodies quickly build up a tolerance to substances like caffeine and sugar, and prolonged overuse tends to have undesirable side effects. Caffeine reactions frequently include bowel instability, mood swings, and anxiety. With sugar, it’s weight gain and diabetes. Both can cause insomnia and other sleep disorders. A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found that energy drinks significantly increased insomnia and anxiety in athletes.[24]

Aluminum: A Hidden Toxin

There’s another potential source of toxicity in energy drinks that you probably haven’t thought of—the can itself. Aluminum cans have been the standard beverage container for decades, but aluminum is toxic to the human body. Hopefully, no one is eating the can after consuming the beverage, but energy drinks are acidic, and trace amounts of aluminum break apart and contaminate the beverage itself. The average American ingests about 7-9 milligrams of aluminum per day in food and drink.[25]

If you ingest a tiny amount of aluminum, your body’s natural detoxification processes can usually filter the toxins out. Consuming an excessive amount of canned beverages over a prolonged period is a different story. When you ingest toxic material faster than your body can process it, that material accumulates, overwhelming your system. Those with existing kidney problems are especially at risk because of a reduced capacity to filter toxins.[25]

High levels of aluminum can cause disorders in the brain, bones, and nervous system including confusion, muscle weakness, brittle bones, and seizures. In children, aluminum toxicity can impair mental and physical development.[26]

Mixing your own fresh beverages at home is the best thing you can do to quench your thirst, but I understand that that’s not always practical. If you must buy pre-packaged drinks, only buy those in glass containers.

Energy Drink Alternatives

Without question, an overall healthy lifestyle with proper diet, plenty of rest, and regular exercise is the best way to feel fully energized. However, there are times when everyone needs that extra boost. If energy drinks are off the table, what are your best options?

Ginseng

Most energy drinks are advertised as containing ginseng. Ginseng itself is great, it improves energy, appetite, and sleep quality.[27] However, the ginseng used in energy drinks is cheap, processed, low-quality, and present in such tiny amounts that its therapeutic effect is practically non-existent.[28] When you factor in the health-ruining amount of sugar and toxic ingredients, ginseng’s potential benefits are more than wiped out.

Why not just cut out the chemical cocktail and go straight to the source? A ginseng supplement is far more active—if it’s high quality. In fact, ginseng effectiveness is completely dependent on quality, and quality varies considerably. Only purchase from reputable companies that are completely transparent about their sourcing and production and only invest in products that are completely natural and toxin-free, like Ginseng Fuzion™.

Vitamin B-12

If you feel drained constantly, you may be one of the 40% of Americans who are vitamin B-12 deficient.[29] B-12 deficiency leads to low red blood cell count—a type of anemia. Symptoms include fatigue, weakness, and difficulty concentrating.[30, 31] Red meat, mollusks, and dairy are the richest sources of B-12. There are few non-animal sources, so those of us that follow a plant-based diet should consider a high-quality B-12 supplement like VeganSafe™ B-12.

Black and Green Tea

If you absolutely need that caffeine boost in the morning, at least obtain it from a better source than energy drinks. Black or green tea can provide a similar mental boost. Tea has less caffeine than energy drinks and causes fewer sleep disruptions.[32] According to two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies, tea improves attention and self-reported alertness.[33] The combination of theanine and caffeine, naturally occurring ingredients in tea, improves cognitive performance.[34]

I only recommend tea for adults and teens—it’s not for children. While tea has significantly less caffeine than energy drinks, any caffeine at all is a potential health risk to a developing brain and body.

Nuts

If you need an energy boost fast, try a handful of nuts. Nutrient-dense nuts help your body sustain energy levels and they’re a good source of high-quality protein.[35] They also contain valuable phytochemicals like carotenoids, phenolic acids, phytosterols, and flavonoids. These nutrients encourage physical and mental well-being, helping the body sustain higher energy levels. Walnuts, almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, and pistachios provide the best bang for your buck.

Water

If you’re feeling irritable and tired, you may actually be slightly dehydrated. Studies show that even mild dehydration can cause drastic changes in mood and energy levels.[36] It’s important to stay properly hydrated, especially when exercising. Forget the brightly colored sports drinks—blue dye isn’t going to help you. Electrolytes are important, but in the context of energy drink marketing, it’s just a fancy word for potassium and salt. It is necessary to replace lost minerals after an intense workout, but you can get the same effect by adding a pinch of Himalayan crystal salt to purified water.

Exercise

It may sound counterintuitive, but exercise will actually make you feel less tired. In fact, regular exercise is the best thing you can do for increased energy, weight control, and overall quality of life.[37] In a pinch, even five minutes of light, low-intensity exercise can boost your mood, concentration, and energy levels.[38]

Sleep

Tired? Here’s a crazy suggestion: have you tried sleeping? Even a ten-minute nap will do wonders for your energy levels. For long-term success, you need to get the proper amount of sleep every night. Some people need more, some less, but the conventional wisdom of eight hours of sleep each night is a good starting point.

I know, who has time to sleep? Do you even know anyone who gets eight hours of sleep per night? You’re more likely to know someone who brags about only getting four hours. An unfortunate byproduct of the modern lifestyle is this bizarre idea that proper sleep equals weakness.

This mentality is pure self-destructive madness. You need sleep. No energy-boosting product is a substitute. Caffeine doesn’t give you energy; it fools your body into not noticing how tired it is. All you’re doing is biding a little extra time that you’ll pay for later.

What’s your opinion about energy drinks? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts and experiences with us.

The post Are Energy Drinks Bad for You? appeared first on Dr. Group's Healthy Living Articles.

from Robert Morgan Blog http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/are-energy-drinks-bad-for-you/

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echutti-blog · 8 years ago

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A trip to Sikkim

A TRIP TO PARADISE OF BOTANISTS- SIKKIM

Have you ever imagined walking through the snowfall and never be tired of it? Have you ever fallen in love with the cold and the snow that covers the beautiful landscape? Have you ever seen so many colours and the prettiest of flowers, all in the same place? Or have you ever wanted to come out at night to eat ice creams with your girlfriends without the feeling of insecurity to haunt you? Make it a dream come true by visiting the attractively mesmerizing hill station-Sikkim-which will leave you awestruck with its magnificent beauty and would soothe your eyes as you surrender yourself to its spellbinding greenery! In a world of mental and physical pressure, Sikkim could be an appropriately suitable escape from the pollution of cities and judging eyes of your neighbours or colleagues and family members.Sikkim is a North Eastern state of India, bordered by Nepal, Tibet and Bhutan. It is also known as a “brother” among the “seven sisters” of North East India (Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura and Meghalaya- yet other places which would leave you breathless). The state has a dramatic landscape which ranges from India’s highest mountain, Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) to the landscape of Yumthang Valley with its beautiful spring flowers. For nature lovers, Sikkim is a must-to-visit place as it is home to glaciers, alpine meadows and thousands of varieties of wildflowers. The state has a rich history of kings and lords and monarchs ruling over it. It also has a history of freedom fighters and revolutionists fighting for the rights and justice of the state and its people. This is one place which many tourists like to visit for some peace and to spend some quality time to with their loved one. One such plan was made by my family in the winter of 2014. It was a four day trip with a family of my father’s friend. This trip was one of the best things that happened to me in the fall of 2014. The place is etched in my heart and mind and will always remind me of the splendid journey I had. Sikkim is not just a place, it is a feeling! Go climb the mountains, ride the Yak through the snowy paths and explore its mouth-watering dishes!

Here are some of the best places you can visit in Sikkim and Gangtok (Directly from my travel journal to your laptop screens)- Day 1- The excitement of “changing landscape”!We took a train from Tinsukia (in Assam, since I am from Assam) to New Jalpaiguri Station (NJP) in West Bengal (which took us two days and one night). From there we went towards Sikkim. My father’s friend, who stays in Sikkim, came to pick us up from the train station. It took us around 5 hours to reach our booked destination. On our way we stopped at a Dhaba to have lunch (the name of which I don’t remember now, but all I could remember is that there was this cute dog who kept on coming towards me and sticking closer to my legs). I remember how exciting it was when we kept moving upwards towards Sikkim. It was a change from plains to mountains. The tress became denser and greener, the roads became narrow and we were more frequently encountered by the Teesta River which became distinctively clear as we went higher. On reaching Sikkim we went to Mahatma Gandhi Marg (MG Marg) which is a Gangtok tourism road. This area is free of litter, smoke and vehicles, and is a pedestrian zone only. Locals would immediately ask you to stop smoking if they find your smoking in this area.In the evening we took a local tour of M.G. Marg and later had dinner at on the rooftop of the hotel we were staying at, called, Hotel Golden Pagoda. They have a beautiful Dinner hall. From the rooftops one could see the mountains and little lights shining from them. The best time to visit MG Marg is in December when the “Gangtok Annual Food and Culture Festival” takes place (when many different food stalls are set up at the Titanic Park in MG Marg). While there are various restaurants and cafes in this road, some of them are very well popular among the tourist. They include:

PUB25- A popular pub which plays some truly amazing music. The service is very well as its staffs are very attentive. You can also entertain yourself by reading the funny anecdotes about beer and drinking attached to the walls of the restaurant.

Baker’s Cafe- They serves some yummy pastries, patties, momos and other snack items. Do not forget to try its coffee!

Golden Dragon- It has a lovely dinning environment and spectacular market view. We went there for breakfast, but the food was so good that we went back for lunch and dinner.

Chopsticks- It has a scene of a family restaurant. The service is welcoming and warm. It’s a very good place for a proper family dinner.

Allen’s Kitchen-If you want to listen to some lovely music with some delicious food on your table, than you should visit Allen’s Kitchen in MG Marg. This restaurant provides a wide variety of food. Also, the owner, himself, takes care of customers so personally.

DAY 2- EXPLORING THE LOCAL BEAUTYThe next day after a warm breakfast we decided to go for a local tour of the area. We heard a lot about Rumtek Monastery in Gangtok and so we made sure it is the first place we visit in Sikkim. We booked a cab from MG Marg to Rumtek Monastery, which took us around 30 minutes. Rumtek Monastery, also known as Dharmachakra Centre, is a Tibetian Buddhist temple. Once you are at the base gate of the monastery you realise that it is true of all the facts told about it. From the base gate it requires an uphill walk (about 15 minutes) to reach to the main monastery. This monastery is one of the largest monasteries in Sikkim and has a unique infrastructure, which resembles the infrastructure of the original one in Tibet. This monastery has one of the finest architectures in the world. Once you visit this place, you get a sense of peace about yourself as you just let the silence surround you. Also, there are vantage points from where you get to see some beautiful sites of the whole Gangtok!After a two hours stay in Rumtek monastery, we came down to the town and I had thupka(a local soup dish) for lunch. We toured around MG Marg the whole evening as it is a very convenient place for evening walk and shopping. The place is very clean and is a paved street with shops lining both the sides. There are benches fixed throughout the road where you can sit down and talk when you are tired of walking. If you get hungry, there are ample of options you can rely upon. The whole street is lined with restaurants, bars and cafe. In the evening, we went for some shopping and ate some amazing local street foods (the names of which I don’t remember). After a long day we came to our hotel rooms and freshen up for one-amazing-night. At around 8pm we all got dressed up for dinner and went to Allen’s Kitchen where we were served some amazing starters, beverages and sweet dishes.

DAY 3- A TOUR TO 3,753 METRES HEIGHTThe next day we backpacked for Lake Tsomgo also known as Changu Lake which is located at an elevation of 3,753 metre. The Lake is associated with many myths and legends and is referred to it by the Sikkimese as “sacred”. The Lake is covered with snow in winters. On our way to the lake, there was an instant change in the scenes and temperature. Soon we realised that the streets were covered with snow and we were driving through the clouds! We stopped our cars for a while and clicked some photos and experienced the much awaited snow fall. The landscape was covered with snow, even the houses and shops (though it was very sparsely populated). The place had a beauty of its own. The cold was freezing but satisfying. I still remember a story that my father told us which still fascinates me. It goes something like: A long time ago the mountains had wings and would fly away to anywhere they wanted and would settle there. The people went through a lot of trouble for this behaviour of the mountains. They complained to Lord Vishnu, the regulator of the Universe. Lord Vishu decided to cut off the wings of the mountains so that they can settle in one place. Though today the mountains cannot fly, but the love of the mountain and its wings was eternal. Therefore, the cut- out wings took the form of clouds and still hovers near the mountains.After playing for a while in the snow we started off to descend from the mountains. On our way back we stopped at a shop where we ate hot soup and tea. It was the best combination in the cold weather. On our way back we stopped at Gonjang Monastery which is as beautiful as a mystery! I would strongly recommend a visit to this monastery and pray for the good will of one’s loved ones. DAY 4- LACHUNG, LACHEN AND YUMTHANG VALLEYMost part of our Day 4 was in the villages of Lachung, Lachen and Yumthang Valley. Visiting these villages is a onetime experience. There was thick snow in the mountains and we spend much time playing in the snow. From there we made our way to the “zero point” where we got a spectacular view! Standing in this point one can understand about “God’s creation”. This is a place where you are so close to nature and you get a sense of belonging and acceptance that you wish to stay a little longer and than a little more. But then your father calls you back to the car because it’s already time for you to leave, and as you leave you become so emotional because you know you are going to miss this place. All the way back to hotel all I can think about how much I was going to miss this place, and it was indeed a magical experience.

Thus the last day of the trip came to an end. Soon I found myself backpacking to leave for my home. But Alas! That one trip left me with so much of emotional attachment with the place and with such peace and tranquillity in my mind! It is true that “Wonders do come in small packages!” and thus to witness this you must visit the second smallest State in India-Sikkim- and let its prismatic beauty and mesmeric charm work wonders with you!

June is a wonderful time to be in Sikkim. While most of your trip should move as per plan, you should always be prepared for surprises. For more info join traveller club and find your trip partner on eChutti.

#traveller club #your trip partner #travel to sikkim #travel blog #travel forum #trip planner

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type2diabetestreatments-blog · 8 years ago

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Ask D'Mine: High and Tired, Who's at Risk of a Coma?

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Ask D'Mine: High and Tired, Who's at Risk of a Coma?

Got queries about life with diabetes? Keep sending 'em our way. You'll get all the info you need — and more! — at our weekly diabetes advice column, Ask D'Mine, hosted by veteran type 1, diabetes author and community educator Wil Dubois.

Not much is off-limits here, as you'll see today (except of course specific medical instructions for your own care; that's what doctors are for)

Need help navigating life with diabetes? Email us at [email protected]

Cheryl from Texas, type 2, writes: My blood sugar has always been high. I can't remember an A1C under 7.5. But I just saw a new doctor last week and my sugars have actually been in the normal range lately. The thing is, I've been extremely tired and have a total lack of energy. I also feel dehydrated. Is this normal for having normal blood sugars?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: No. No, it's not. Freaky. You finally get your sugars down and now you've got all the symptoms of high blood sugar. That's really weird.

Oh, but by the way, congratulations on your fabulous new diabetes control!

OK. So tired. And thirsty. (Puts on thinking cap.) One thing that sometimes happens to people who run really high for a long time is that once they get "normal," they feel low. It's called relative hypoglycemia. It's sort of a reverse acclimation. If you're high for a long time, "normal" feels low to your body. Your body has to get used to the new normal. This generally happens with rapid therapy changes though, like starting insulin, when blood sugar can be normalized very quickly. But super tired and super dehydrated aren't really your typical signs of lows anyway, so relative hypoglycemia is probably off the table.

(Adjusts thinking cap.)

So maybe we need to think about all the other things that come with diabetes that have nothing whatsoever to do with blood sugar. After all, there's more to diabetes than blood sugar!

If you wake up tired you might have sleep apnea, as the majority of T2s do. It causes skipped breaths at night, and that causes sleep disturbances. Even though you thought you slept through the night, you never get into the kind of deep sleep you need to really get rested. Getting tested for sleep apnea is a bit annoying, but it's something to talk to your doc about.

If you start out OK, energy-wise, then run out of steam quickly during the day, you might want to look toward your thyroid. Ask your doc about a TSH test. Oh, while you are at it, you might be anemic, too, so while you're getting a blood draw anyway...

This handy chart lists around 50 more possible causes of fatigue including pregnancy (better blood sugars = improved fertility!), medication side effects, various heart stuff common to T2s, and even some super-scary stuff like cancer.

I think you can see where I'm going here. But just in case you can't, let me spell it out: I rather doubt your new fatigue and new thirst has anything to do with your new blood sugar. But your symptoms are caused by something, and your doc is going to need to figure out what that something is. Oh, and one last thought, the two symptoms might not be related to each other at all. Just because they started together doesn't mean they are caused by the same thing. You might be fatigued from one thing and thirsty from another.

Now, for those of you who like to analyze symptoms, there's a really cool symptom finder here, but be warned, searching symptoms online is the leading cause of ANXIETY.

Edward from New York, type 2, writes: Can type 2s go into a coma if their blood sugar gets too high?

Wil@Ask D'Mine answers: You betcha. In fact, type 2s can go into two different types of comas. First, although not terribly common, you T2s can go into the same diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) coma that we T1s can. Here's how DKA works: If there's no insulin around to help the cells in your body eat sugar, the body goes to plan B: burning fat. Now on the surface, that sounds like great idea. Who wouldn't want less fat? Burning fat should be a good thing, right?

Well... maybe not.

Because where there's fire, there's also smoke. And in this case, the smoke is a trio of acids called ketone bodies. And it so happens that if you get too many of these critters in your blood stream they can actually change the pH of your blood, and that results in all kinds of bad things including coma and even death.

But T2s always have some insulin, right? Wrong. If you've had T2 forever and ever, your pancreas is pooped. Your insulin resistance can plum wear it out. Long-term T2s can have insulin levels of pretty much zero. They might as well just join our T1 club at that point. But freakier, and more common, is a temporary state called glucose toxicity.

So now I gotta talk about the prairie dogs.

You all know what prairie dogs are, right? I think they're related to rats and moles, actually, but they're much cuter and have a better name (perception is everything: if they were called prairie rats, no one would be busy saving them from housing developments). Oh, and they have the endearing behavior of sitting up on their hind legs on top of their mounds Ã la lemurs.

Now, when eagles fly over prairie dog villages, the prairie dogs dive for cover down their holes to avoid becoming lunch to a predator on the wing. Smart varmints. So I want you to picture the beta cells in your pancreas (the ones that make insulin) as being prairie dogs and your high blood sugar as the eagle.

Got it?

Right. When the blood sugar gets high enough, the beta cells dive for cover. They temporarily shut down. If the beta cells are hiding underground in their holes, they aren't making insulin and POOF! Instant temporary type 1 diabetes. Well, OK, you aren't really type 1 'cause you don't have an autoimmune disease, but you're in the same physiological state for all practical purposes. No insulin means you can go DKA. Well, not can go DKA, probably will go DKA. In point of fact, if you, as an adult with no previous history of diabetes arrive at an ER in DKA it can be really difficult sorting out if you're a LADA T1, or glucose toxic T2. Either way, you'll get put on insulin to save your furry hide.

In the long run, of course, a glucose toxic T2 recovers. The prairie dogs come back out of their holes once the blood sugar comes back down, and in many cases the person will do just fine on oral meds.

So that's the first kind of coma. The second is unique to you T2s and is called a Hyperosmolar Hyperglycemic State (HHS). Luckily, it's quite rare as it carries a 20% mortality rate (DKA runs around 2% for comparison). It's sometimes called a "nonketotic coma" as it is caused by a fluid imbalance associated with very high blood sugars in the absence of ketones. Ya can't be DKA without the "K."

HHS is pretty complicated. I loved one definition that called it a "metabolic derangement." I personally think of it as a forest fire of high blood sugar (north of 600 mg/dL) and dehydration that feed off each other. And I'm not talking about garden-variety, hey-I-need-a-drink-of-water dehydration. I'm talking dehydration on the cellular level. As it progresses, sodium and potassium levels get out of whack too. Basically, it's a physiological train wreck in slow motion, snow balling out of control on many levels simultaneously.

HHS is most common in the elderly T2, and often is triggered by an illness that reduces fluids (like being too sick to your stomach to drink or throwing up a lot from the flu).

On the bright side, the prevalence is only one case per 1,000 person years. So it's not too likely to happen to you. On the dark side (other than the high death rate) the prevalence is expected to spike over the next few years as T2 is becoming much more common.

Bottom line: done poorly, diabetes Type 1 or Type 2, is dangerous businesses—and no one has an exclusive on coma risk. Sorry to say.

This is not a medical advice column. We are PWDs freely and openly sharing the wisdom of our collected experiences — our been-there-done-that knowledge from the trenches. But we are not MDs, RNs, NPs, PAs, CDEs, or partridges in pear trees. Bottom line: we are only a small part of your total prescription. You still need the professional advice, treatment, and care of a licensed medical professional.

Disclaimer: Content created by the Diabetes Mine team. For more details click here.

Disclaimer

This content is created for Diabetes Mine, a consumer health blog focused on the diabetes community. The content is not medically reviewed and doesn't adhere to Healthline's editorial guidelines. For more information about Healthline's partnership with Diabetes Mine, please click here.

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