#overdeveloped back since i was 11

[theonevoice]

15 people, 15 questions

Tagged by @streetcornertwoam (thanks!)

1. Are you named after anyone?

Not a specific person, my parents chose for me and my brother two names of Latin origins, mine from the Roman gens Valeria, after the verb "valere", meaning "to be strong". So how often do you think about the Roman Empire?

2. When was the last time you cried?

I don't cry very often these days, but on July 28 the final episode of Good Omens s2 got me sobbing, unexpectedly, because a couple of years ago I indeed had a "final fifteen" moment (minus the kiss and the hope for a s3), and I swear to god it was so identical, down to certain choices of words, that for several minutes after the ending I had to double check to make sure that I had actually seen it on screen and was not allucinating.

3. Do you have kids?

Nope, and I don't think I will, I don't feel like I could manage that amount of responsibility.

4. What sports do you play/have played?

I used to swim a lot, but now I only hike. Not the athletic type at all!

5. Do you use sarcasm?

Yes, way too often, but I try to restrain myself because it's very easy to hurt someone with sarcasm and the older I get the less willing I am to contribute to the general harshness of human relations. If I met someone who really deserves it, though, I will not hesitate to peel their skin off their face.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people?

Voice. 90% of my initial reaction to any new person is dictated by how much I like their voice.

7. What’s your eye color?

Hazel.

8. Scary movies or happy endings?

Both, as long as they are well written. I strongly believe that fear and hope are both core parts of the human experience, and when they are well translated into fiction I enjoy them equally.

9. Any talents?

Does overthinking counts? For real though, it's a pain in everyday life, but it's a useful trait to have overdeveloped in academic research since it makes you quite the analyst.

10. Where were you born?

Italy, in the happy town of Montefiascone, one of our many "wine cities", but grew up in a little village near Orvieto, another one of our many "wine cities", connected to both Montefiascone and Orvieto via the Alta Tuscia Wine Road. If you are catching a theme, well... cheers!

11. What are your hobbies?

Too many for my non-existent free time. I play the piano and used to sing in a choir that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore (but I still do my voice excercise every now and then); I like sewing my own clothes; I like gardening; I got back into drawing after a solid decade spent not picking up a pencil (thanks to Good Omens); I love reading books and generally consuming fiction, but since this last part overlaps with my job I don't know if it counts as hobby anymore...

12. Do you have any pets?

I have currently 7 cats, most of them were abandoned nearby by shitty people who saw a stretch of countryside and just dropped them (which left some of them with several traumas, like refusing to eat alone for fear that while they're eating we will vanish). Depending on the time of the year, we take care of the unofficial colony that regularly assembles around our house (even more cats, hedgehogs, some badgers, stray dogs - but the dogs we have to report for everyone's safety, including theirs).

13. How tall are you?

Barely 5'1, I could easily play a hobbit in a Tolkien-based show without the vfx team even noticing, I am one of those unfortunate souls who watch the upper shelf in their kitchen with the same longing and desire with which normal people watch the Moon.

14. Favorite subject in school?

My absolute favorites were Literature, Physics and Technical drawing (you can still easily lure me into any trap by dangling a goniometer in front of me).

15. Dream job?

The one I am so lucky to have right now, and that I'm trying to make permanent (which is the hardest part). I am currently a researcher in the field of Comparative Literature with a specialization in Literary Theory, which may sound like something that one would make up in a tumblr bio, but it's actually a thing (unfortunately does not involve formulating theories about stories or characters, it's about looking at a chunk of literary history and trying to understand why certain genres, themes or writing practices rise and fall). I hope I can keep doing this, because I honestly love it, even if the chances are slim.

I don't know who to tag since my social anxiety extends to "oh god I cannot possibly bother those people just because they sometimes like my posts", so I will borrow the Italian tradition of the pending coffee and will leave a pending tag:

@

if you see this and would like to do it, consider yourself tagged!

[maguro13-2]

Shattered Hero ~ Origins of the Ink Demon : Episode Maka Finale (3/11)

[Halberd Interior]

*Sonic Sfx : Chaos Control*

Maka : Alright, sister. We finally made it back, but where we are? Huh? This is...Meta Knight's ship.

Moirai : We don't know how we got here.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : At last. I'm finally back where I was, inside this metallic body of mine. So it seems, Sonic manages to save the princess from Eggman's clutches again, but eventually, Star Fox team went on the case to rescue Sonic and Elise from the Falling Egg Carrier that might be the cause of Mephiles' manipulation, or perhaps the Solaris Incident is effecting 2006 even more than it was.

Moirai : When it comes to Apparoids, they make me sick.

??? : So, you must be Maka Albarn, A so-called hero of Soul World that existed within the Real World, how noble that you managed to stay alive by being the most overdeveloped person on the planet.

[Endrum Collective - Hideaki Kobayashi]

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Who are you? Are you Leo Grahart from PSO?

Magashi : Allow me to introduce you to myself. I am Renvolt Magashi of the Endrum Collective.

"RENVOLT MAGASHI : LEADER OF THE ENDRUM COLLECTIVE."

Magashi : I am not from the place that you call it PSO. We are from the Gurhal System, a place inhabited by humans and their creations...Casts--Newman--Beasts. And least not forget, 500 years ago, Gurhal had a war among the four races in a never ending conflict. So after peace lasted about 100 years, darkness has begun to awakened and shattered Gurhal's peace.

Maka : Hey, wait a sec. Gurahl...Four races...500 year-old war. You're from PSU!

Magashi : (chuckles) Correct. PSU, the successor to PSO. And I believe it's stands for...

Maka : "Pennsylvania State Universe?"

Moirai : Portalnd State Univerity or PSU stands for...

Grim (Metal Sonic) : No...PSU stands for "Power Supply Unit", but it also stands for "Phantasy Star Universe."

Magashi : You catch on quickly. PSU does stands for Phantasy Star Universe.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Another Sega Representative from another Sonic Team title. PSU was released before the worst game made for sonic was ever released into the atmosphere.

Magashi : So let me guess this. 2006 might been an awful year for the blue blur himself. Ever since the last server for PSO was shutdown by the officials, the original PSO remained in it's private servers after the last episode of PSO, NPCs or the group called the Good guys have been retired their selves as heroes and peace to Ragol has been restored. And now, when 2006 came, I Renvolt Magashi finally made my appearance as the newest villain to the Phantasy Star title. A new Dark Falz that has awakened himself to bring out threats to Real World Au and devastation to the planets. We call these organic things that we call it SEED, spread by PSU's own Dark Falz himself, Codename : Dulk Fakis. A creature that will swallow Gurhal and it's galaxy whole by the darkness itself.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : A star system and a galaxy swallowed by the darkness? I know who that might be. Two people that are villainous psychopaths of Gurhal, Karl F. Howzer and Helga Noimann. (Gary meows) Whoops. I mean " Helga Neumann". Two villainous psychopaths that are humans of Gurhal who wanted to swallow Gurhal and it's planets whole to the Darkness so that they can get away with murder. without, Gurhal, or without the three planets, Phantasy Star Universe will never be the same, before Portable.

Maka : That's crazy! Two human beings that are genocidal sociopaths that wanted to bring an attempt of genocide or omnicide on the planets! That's murder!

Magashi : (laughs evilly) What did you expect, girl? Although that the truth lies within you has seems to be struggling with you. There is no Madness in the Ohkuboverse neither a being you call it a Kishin. Although the Lying of Shinra Kusakabe hurts even more often to you than the truth itself . The purpose of defeating a god has nothing to do with courage, the one gift that you brought from other heroes like Kirby or Shinra Kusakabe. I let you and Nights to use that kind of courage so that the true powers of Darkness should never suspect Demon Vibe's real intentions on taking over this pathetic galaxy, or destroying the rest of the planets that turns this galaxy into a gigantic piles of space dust!

*DBZ SFX : Energy Warbling*

*GLITCHING*

Maka Albarn : (yells in pain) GAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! MY HEAD! IT HURTS! What the hell have I been fighting for!?! This is all Kirby's fault or Shinra's! I am so confused! I'm so frustrated!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Dishonor! She let her guard with confusion!

Magashi : Bwahahaha! That's the Maka I know wanted to hear from a cowardly girl like you and now I will make you disappear so you'll never protect the devil's legacy and spreading the lying to thy self! DIE NOW, SPAWN OF DEVIL!

(CLANG!)

??? : You won't be easily that much to pick someone your own size!

[Save this World - Kelli Sae, Hideaki Kobayashi]

Moirai : Huh? Who is that?

??? : Magashi! I won't let you cower her with fear and confusion, this time I'll stop you for good!

Magashi : Why I don't believe it! It's...(the person unhoods to reveal himself as Ethan Waber) Ethan Waber!

Ethan : That's right. I'm the guy that is kicking your ass! Now stand back and I may stop you! Haaaaa!

Magashi : You're still the same Ethan that I expected! (the two starts clashing) Is that the best you can do!?

Ethan Waber : It's much worth saving the galaxy more than saving the world. You're in a for a hero's welcome! Ha!

Magashi : Clever Ethan! You profound yourself on saving the galaxy, more than saving the world. But it will be the last to the planet covered in darkness. Whether will it be Dark Nebula or Dulk Fakis that is going to rule the entire galaxy!

Karen : You okay there, young ma'am?

Maka : Who are you?

Karen Erra : I'm Karen Erra and I'm with Ethan Waber, the man who is my trainee! And that is the reason that I'm putting a stop to Magashi's recklessness.

Maka : I thought Ethan was just a kid who works alone.

Karen Erra : Not just him. Us as well.

Hyuga : Same goes to me.

Maya : I'm with Ethan's side.

Lou : Just keep your feet on the ground

Leo : Don't get too carried away!

Tonnio : Or we'll make you stay away!

Alfort Tylor : Heh! He never cease to Amaze me.

Magashi : Just as I expected, the Guardians! But I'm tired fighting a bunch of heroes like you all the time. Don't expect Howzer and Helga ever to come destroying the likes of you all, and especially you, Ethan.

Ethan : You'd wish.

Magashi : Heh. It doesn't matter. I'm going to postpone our fight to the SEED Hive, you'll just be part of the demise when Dulk Falkis or Dark Nebula covers the planet in darkness! Farewell, Ethan Waber! (throws Smoke bomb) *BOOM!*

(everyone coughs out)

Ethan : Magashi! Darn it! He must've went off to the SEED Hive! We can't let that happen!

Maka Albarn : So you guys are PSU?

Ethan : Of course, we are PSU after all. I'm Ethan Waber, and these guys are the GUARDIANS. You must be the Grim Reaper of Mobius.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Yes, I am Death God of Mobius, Grim. And I owe you and your comrades my gratitude for saving this girl's life.

Ethan : It's all in a days work. So much for the good guys that usually worked for PSO.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : This is Maka Albarn, a descendant to the Phantonian Race. Nobody would imagine that a girl with a deadly force within her heart and soul would bring all that destruction casued by her anger and sadness that combines frustration to trigger the shattered resonance.

Maya : Wow. A girl who wiped out 80% of Japan's population? What an interesting fact that a child like her would be the cause for the death and destruction of all humanity on Real World earth. Is there a reason why she was confused and frustrated over the reason for not being a hero to Soul World?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : About three years ago, when my units of the Hang Castle Security Force found out that a 70-year old demon queen was escaped from imprisonment, Maka was the only a child that nobody ever wanted and was the outcast by many in Japan, but a boy named Makoto was the only one who ever wanted her.

Hyuga : And so does the main crew of Soul World, what she friends with the main crew of Soul World?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : The only member of the Soul Eater crew was Soul Evans whom she first met in San Francisco, but he recently broken up with her when I ordered my men to capture and secure her in order to be hidden from the public eye. I guess she could say that her heart belongs to somewhere besides others, it could Makoto's or Soul's.

Moirai : [referring to her previous boyfriend] Humph, men! Always be the jerk of our kind! They should known about Gender Equalities by now. Now everyone knows that my sister is in a love triangle!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : We were on our way to stop Dark Nebula from ever covering the galaxy in everlasting darkness by reclaiming his title as Ruler of the Underworld. Where you people exactly headed to?

Ethan Waber : We're on way to save Gurhal and Real World AU from this that orginally came from. (shows a photo of the SEED Hive)

Moirai : Woah! What is that place? Could that be...

Grim (Metal Sonic) : The SEED Hive. That's where Renvolt Magashi was heading to.

~ Act 28 : The Heroes of PSU ~

[thepinkpen412]

The Standard by DeAnna Lindauer

"The Standard is the Standard." That has been the gospel according to Mike Tomlin for his tenure as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The quote itself, etched in steel outside of the Steelers locker room at Heinz Field. Yet, what exactly is "The Standard?"

Is the standard the legacy of the Rooney family and their loyalty to this city? Is it their  untarnished reputation for seeing people as equals, the Rooney Rule itself a standard for the NFL. Is it the Rooney's mantra of family, faith, and football? The history of our franchise a story that is told throughout generations. Is the standard the legacy of Chuck Knoll, the Steel Curtain, Terry Bradshaw, and the teams from the 70s who were untouchable? Is it three coaches since 1969? The Immaculate Reception? The Terrible Towel? Perhaps, it's the old phrase, "Thank God you don't have to go through Pittsburgh to get to heaven" forever remembered by those who were privileged to be alive during that era? Was the standard Troy Polamalu perfectly timing a play at the line of scrimmage to sack a quarterback or catching a pick six? Is it Antwaan Randle El's touchdown pass to Hines Ward in Super Bowl XL? Ben Roethlisberger's touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in the back of the end zone in Super Bowl 43? Renegade?

In the summer of 2021, Troy Polamalu stood on stage in Canton, Ohio with some of his former teammates in attendance. As he spoke and reflected on his career, one moment from that speech stood out from the rest: when he defined what it was like to be a Pittsburgh Steeler and perfectly defined "The Standard."

Polamalu said, "Mike Logan, the starting safety my rookie year, shared his full knowledge of the game, wholeheartedly showing a level of humility that helped shape my career. Like many other teammates, his selflessness paved the greater opportunity for others at his own expense. It is unnatural in the most competitive environment to train your replacement, yet this is our culture, Steeler culture. These virtues I learned while playing for the Steelers are what make the legacy of the black and gold timeless. They are passed down in the locker room from the Steel Curtain to anyone who valiantly wears the black and gold, creating a brotherhood that is deeper than money, business, and winning. To be a Steeler is to consider others before you consider yourself, to protect your brother even from himself, to give support at your own expense, and when wearing the black and gold suit of armor, make sure nobody desecrates it disrespects it. Most importantly, we ourselves don’t dishonor it. The only approval any Steeler should seek is to earn the approval from previous legends who have dawned the black and gold. And if you’ve really earned their respect, they’ll say, “You could’ve played with us.” What I truly appreciate about the Steeler way is that at its core, it’s the success of a family, a culture based on the essential virtues any person respects and honors, humility, passion, resilience, service, and legacy."

In Ben Roethlisberger's final press conference as a member of the black and gold, he said that he hugged veteran linebacker Cam Heyward, and told him that it was now up to him to carry on the standard within the locker room for the players. As we see the end of an era with Ben Roethlisberger's indefinite retirement and the dawn of a new era rising, we have to ask ourselves, "Has the standard itself died?"  

Former Steeler turned ESPN Analyst, Ryan Clark has not sugar coated anything when it comes to today's Pittsburgh Steelers. On December 11, 2021, Clark called out wide receiver Chase Claypool on air leaving many Steelers fans divided, however none of what he said is false. Clark said, "Chase Claypool is as mentally and emotionally underdeveloped as he is physically overdeveloped. This is a dude that has all the things you need from a physical standpoint to be a superstar wide receiver. He has a remedial level understanding of what it is to be a football player, of what it is to be a good teammate, of what it is to be a winner.  He only cares about himself, and that self-centeredness is part of what's bringing the Steelers team and organization down."

Read that again, "...that self-centeredness is part of what's bringing the Steelers team and organization down."

When Dan Rooney died in 2017, the slew of bad press that followed lingered like a black cloud. Antonio Brown seems like he was the start of it all, from a tweet that said, "Trade me" after a game where he was critical of the team's performance and didn't show up to practice in the days afterwards, followed by $80,000 cash and a gun being stolen from his Miami apartment, and to top his 2018 off, he was caught speeding down McKnight Road in the North Hills of Pittsburgh going over 100 mph in his Porsche. At times, there were people saying, "Ever since old man Rooney died, they have lost control of this team."

Let's not single out one player. It seems that the players drafted since have their own reality of what "The Standard" is. Each of them living up to it in their own ways, however, at what point does the organization step in and say, "This isn't about the name on the back of the jersey, it's about the logo that you wear on your chests and helmets?"

Social media is the devil, it can make you or break you. In most cases, it seems like it breaks you. Social media has been the downfall to the standard. It all started with Coach Tomlin being caught in the background on an Instagram calling the New England Patriots, "Assholes." The players who started the tradition of “The Standard” were before the age of new media and chasing clout that NFL players seem to chase on social media. There are very few players left on the Steelers team who had established a name for themselves before there was Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Ben Roethlisberger was drafted in 2004, back then all people were worried about were who was in their top 8 on MySpace, Facebook was founded in 2004 but was still in the early stages, newspapers were still being printed. TalkSports.net was the blog everyone went to for sports gossip, and you had to take that with a grain of salt.

Something in Steelers Nation that is almost as sacred as “The Standard” itself is The Terrible Towel. The towel itself started by a legend among Steelers Nation, the late, great Myron Cope. It’s a sin to desecrate the towel, it’s cursed we all believe when someone stomps it, uses it to dust their shoe off such as TJ Housmandzadeh did many years ago. Perhaps we should ask ourselves, “What would happen if we all took ‘The Standard’ as seriously as we do desecration of The Terrible Towel.” If someone disrespects the towel, Steelers fans are quick to say, “You did it now. You don’t disrespect the towel, it has consequences.” You know what else has consequences, not taking the self-centeredness that Ryan Clark mentioned seriously and not fighting to make sure no one in the locker room desecrates their uniform by the actions they do off the field.

A wise man once said, “Social media is like pissing in public, don’t do it if you don’t want to get caught.” People at all times represent themselves and their own individual brand. While these Steelers players are their own entities, they are also the image and likeness of the Pittsburgh Steelers. They become one of the many faces of the franchise the minute they put their pen to the paper of their contracts. While employees of a company should have their own lives outside of their jobs, when you are a professional athlete, you have to be professional at all times. Your life immediately gets put under a microscope when you step into the spotlight. Your actions reflect yourself and the team that you play for. A player should not be on social media after a loss doing the latest dance trend or challenge. It makes him look like a fool, and it makes his coaches look like bigger fools because it makes it seem like he cares more about himself more than he did the playbook and the game plan.  

Bottom line is, what Ryan Clark spoke is the truth. Players are being self-centered because they are not being held accountable by constantly disrespecting the black and gold suit of armor that Troy Polamalu talks about a Steelers player should make sure no one disrespects or dishonors. With Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, a chapter comes to a close where a player learned from his off-field embarrassments and turned them into triumphs creating model of “The Standard” for future generations to follow through resiliency, service, faith, guts, and glory. His leadership setting a standard for those around him. Cam Heyward a model player, a man who gives back to the community in so many ways, who grew up in Pittsburgh himself and who has spent the last several seasons nominated as the Steelers’ recipient to be Walter Peyton Man of the Year is going to be left babysitting a locker room that could care less. The offensive line didn’t even help their own quarterback up off of the field after a sack. They let him retire with one final record no quarterback ever wants to retire with. “The most sacked quarterback of all time.”

TJ Watt recently received the sacred blessing that Troy Polamalu talked about from the Pittsburgh Steelers legends that won the defensive player of the year award. “You could have played with us,” said James Harrison, Troy Polamalu, Joe Greene, Mel Blount, Rod Woodson, and Jack Lambert. While we could turn this into a love letter to TJ Watt, we aren’t going to do that. Congratulations TJ Watt on your Defensive Player of the Year Award, it’s about time. You are bringing the defense back to what this city all knows and that generations have talked about for years, and for earning the respect of your peers.

I am not going to sit here and pretend that I know what goes on behind closed doors in the Steelers locker room. I don’t have, “Sources” who are the ball boy’s cousin’s coworker’s boyfriend who makes up things about players and the front office for clout for a radio show or a newspaper article.  I am not going to make up stories about players walking out of offices in anger or postseason interviews. I have nothing to lose and nothing to gain. I took journalism courses in college and always had a knack for writing, this article came from anger about a playoff loss that saw one of the best quarterbacks in the modern game retire in a manor he didn’t deserve and from a place of love for my favorite team who seems like they are a shell of a team I once knew.

Mike Tomlin once said, “It’s not about what you’re capable of, it’s about what you’re willing to do.”

[16ruedelaverrerie]

  [Today, Courtesy of This Diagram Generated by @sebdoesstuff, a Performative Reading of the Natal Chart of Detective Gavin Reed, Born October 7, 2002, in What We Take to Be Detroit, Michigan, at an Unknown Time of Day. All Standard Disclaimers from This Post Apply, Including the One about This Being a Generalization, Because Even with the Natal Chart We’re Not Going to Get into Aspects or Full Houses vs Empty Houses or Anything Like That, I’m Not an Astrologer Nor Was I Meant to Be, Also I Need to Go Eat Dinner Now]  

1. Rising Sign: presentation Sagittarius (blunt, outgoing, independent)

[The rising sign is dependent on the time of birth; it’s Sagittarius here because 12PM is the default time this website uses. My original choice for Gavin’s rising sign was Aries, because an Aries is just a Leo with an inferiority complex THAT’S RIGHT FIGHT ME ARIES but I rather like Sagittarius, actually! Did you know that every man I have ever been into but also simultaneously hated myself for being into had a Sagittarius sun sign? It’s a personal note you didn’t ask for but also it’s a broadly applicable truth.]

“I’ll make my own scrambled eggs,” says Gavin. “You cook like someone who made a deal with the devil to trade in their taste buds for pointlessly overdeveloped fine motor skills, which is exactly what you are. Your food tastes like a fucking instruction manual.”

“Is that any way to talk to your lawfully wedded husband?” asks RK900.

“THE LAW IS NOT JUSTICE,” proclaims Gavin.

Capitulating to the oppressive institution of marriage had provided them with certain tax benefits, muses RK900, but it had not done a thing to socialize Gavin. It's just as well, he thinks.

  2. Sun: personality 14 degrees Libra (diplomatic, superficial, indulgent)

[Again, this post is probably more than enough contemplation of Gavin Reed, Actual Libra. This sun sign continues to be completely absurd and I am on board for this bogus journey.]

“No wait, not-- not from the back,” pants Gavin, struggling to turn himself over under RK900′s insistent hands. “I want-- I want to see your face.”

“Okay,” breathes RK900, startled by the tenderness of the request.

“I mean, otherwise there’s no point,” continues Gavin. “What? You think I’m with you for your personality?”

“...Thanks, you ruined it,” says RK900.

  3. Moon: emotion 01 degree Scorpio (passionate, secretive, committed)

“You... I...” falters Gavin, fidgeting viciously with the zipper of his jacket. “...What I mean is-- that is to say, I... here’s the thing, you’re... I’m in-- I might be in-- ...I-- you--”

“Would you find this ordeal easier if we were both undressed and I was banging you like a screen door in a hurricane?” asks RK900, because it isn’t like he doesn’t know what Gavin is trying to say, anyway.

“Yes please right now,” says Gavin.

  4. Mercury: intellect 28 degrees Virgo (analytical, detail-oriented, perfectionist)

“Reed, this is ridiculous,” barks Fowler. “Your report was due two weeks ago, I can’t have you sit on your ass forever. Just get it done.”

“But have you seen the body text typeface for the new electronic filing system?” protests Gavin. “The x-height on it is hideously minuscule! What it does to the counters-- it’s completely illegible, Captain! I am ASPHYXIATED by its lack of sufficient aperture! I can’t work in typographical squalor, this aesthetic is a disgrace to the force! I QUIT!”

“Your gun and badge,” says Fowler.

  5. Venus: relationship 15 degrees Scorpio (loyal, possessive, adventurous)

“Here’s a handbook of sexual perversions that I’ve compiled for you,” says Gavin. He drops a gargantuan dossier in front of RK900, where it lands with a thunk hard enough to make the table shake.

“I... really don’t think this is necessary,” says RK900.

“Listen, I would literally keel over and die of grief if for some reason you suddenly decided to go slam your cock inside someone else instead of me,” says Gavin. “Tell me what freaky shit you’re into, and I’ll do it. You tell me what it takes to keep you around.”

“Isn’t there a nicer way of saying all this?” asks RK900.

  6. Mars: action 24 degrees Virgo (occupied, particular, critical)

“This folder is for solved cases that haven’t been filed yet,” says Gavin, cursor hovering. “This folder is for solved cases that are partially filed. This folder is for solved cases involving drug offenses. This folder is for all cases east of Woodward but west of Broadway. This folder is for bad crimes. This folder is for cases that when I looked at them, I was like, huh! This folder is--”

“Please, your organizational scheme doesn’t make any sense,” says RK900. “I’ve had to patch up several critical errors during your attempt to explain it just now.”

“It works! I have a system!” insists Gavin. “You know how Fowler feels about me, would I still be here if I didn’t have a system that worked and got cases cleared?”

“Your continued employment at this station is a source of persistent mystery to me,” says RK900.

  7. Jupiter: development 13 degrees Leo (dramatic, proud, demonstrative)

“You requested me?” demands Gavin as soon as the door to Fowler’s office swings closed, too befuddled to let his irritation silence him. “You asked to be partnered with me? What the fuck did you do that for?”

“You have... unorthodox methods, Detective Gavin Reed,” says RK900. “The capacity for improvisation is a quality I find lacking in myself. I intend to learn from your extraordinary proficiency in adapting to unforeseen circumstances.”

Gavin opens his mouth, only to close it again without managing to say anything. He turns on his heels and starts stomping away.

“Come on, you dumb shit,” he calls over his shoulder. His ears are flushed, RK900 notes.

  8. Saturn: limitation 29 degrees Gemini (concrete, inarticulate, intuitive)

“As Democritus said, happiness resides not in possessions,” announces Gavin as he bursts into the bedroom, glasses on the bridge of his nose, squinting at several closely printed pages that he clutches in his hands. “There is an ethical imperative to question whether it is beneficial to hold onto that which can be held onto; if it is not, at times, more salubrious to our spiritual health to cast off that which we let fester by keeping close to ourselves. For indeed, as stagnant water breeds disease, so do we find that the objects--”

“Gavin,” interrupts RK900, “are you... are you trying to thank me for taking out the trash an extra time last week?”

“You have to let me finish,” says Gavin. “I’ve been working on this since then.”

“Hold on,” says RK900, “you spent a week writing a speech because you couldn’t say th--”

“--SO DO WE FIND THAT THE OBJECTS WHICH SURROUND US CEASE TO GIVE US JOY WHEN THEY HAVE OVERSTAYED THEIR WELCOME,” shouts Gavin.

  9. Uranus: freedom 25 degrees Aquarius (scientific, original, technocratic)

“I’m a Gen Z chaos child and proud of it!” says Gavin. “We’re the generation that invented androids!”

“Some might say that you were adamantly refusing to be proud of this accomplishment until very recently,” remarks RK900. “Some might also say that it’s not your accomplishment in the least, that you had absolutely nothing to do with it, and point out that you have trouble operating a microwave on your best days.”

“They all have different ways you need to enter minutes and seconds,” says Gavin, hotly.

  10. Neptune: transcendence 08 degrees Aquarius (humanitarian, secular, modern)

“I’m a Gen Z chaos child and proud of it!” says Gavin. “We’re the generation that replaced religion with unparalleled medical advances and brought us one step closer to a post-scarcity society!”

“Wouldn’t know it from looking at you,” says RK900. “Generation that replaced religion with memes, more like.”

“Who taught you to talk like this?” demands Gavin.

  11. Pluto: transformation 15 degrees Sagittarius (confident, principled, revolutionary)

“I’m a Gen Z chaos child and proud of it!” says Gavin. “We replaced religion with memes and the whole world is better for it!”

“You smoke actual cigarettes and use voice-to-text to take notes,” says RK900. “I’m starting to think you might not even be Gen Z at all. How old are you, Gavin Reed? Are you a Highlander? Can you only be killed through decapitation?”

“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” says Gavin.

  BONUS. North Node: purpose 10 degrees Gemini (interaction, partnership, community)

“Go talk to him,” Tina hisses under the clamor of the bar, elbowing RK900 in the side.

“He has been uncommunicative and belligerent since my return,” says RK900, keeping his eyes fixed on the glass of Thirium in front of him. “Correction, he has been especially uncommunicative and belligerent since my return. I believe attempting to engage with him at this point would only cause him to lash out further.”

“But have you figured out why?” asks Hank. “You know what’s got his panties in a twist?”

“That is an unsolicited mental image,” says RK900, “but I believe it is related to my dereliction of duty while I was confined to Cyberlife for repairs. The damage was extensive and I was unable to assist with Detective Reed’s caseload for much longer than he has been accustomed to. The evidence leads me to conclude that he is still resentful of my prolonged absence.”

“Unbelievable,” says Tina. “Brain the size of a planet and that’s what you conclude.”

“Nines,” says Connor, kindly, “replay your memories from the night of the shooting. My hypothesis is that you may not have taken all the evidence into account.”

The memories from the night of the shooting. Why, when the way that Gavin’s been acting ought to be explanation enough? Why go back to the sound of the gunshot like a cracking whip, the split second of frenzied calculation, the bullet in motion -- straight as the crow flies -- Gavin’s eyes widening as RK900 shoved him away, the sharp brittle crack of his shell coming apart, and then the terrible, painful static filling his head-- and Gavin’s fingers, slicked with blue, shaking uncontrollably as he fumbled to hold the shards of his skull together-- Gavin shouting something at him that he couldn’t hear over the noise, then Gavin’s lips still moving noiselessly when his audio processors cut out, just a deafening silence as the countdown began, and barely visible beyond the angry blur of error messages and critical malfunctions that had filled his view -- only now in the solemn clarity past the moment, RK900 could see -- in the low light of the alleyway, on his knees in filth beside him, Gavin looked--

RK900 glances up from his glass, turns to the far side of the bar where Gavin has been all night. The giveaway flurry as Gavin whips his head away, pretending for all he's worth as though there’s something very interesting on the wall next to him. He knows RK900 is looking, and RK900 knows that he knows because he stubbornly refuses to look back.

“Go talk to him,” says Tina, again.

His ears are flushed, thinks RK900, and stands up.

[allronix]

Replaying KOTOR 1: Part 13

1. Gee, these Sith students are...pathetic. Petty bullies, really. they aren’t even creative about it. There's more to the Dark Side than strutting around and pretending you're hot shit. By the Force, they're worse than some moron who snorted enough coke to make Tony Montana blush. Lana and Marr would fry them for embarrassing the name.

2.  However, these embarrassingly bad "Sith" really bring out the snark in my crew, and that's worth the popcorn.

3. The Valley of the Dark Lords still is visually stunning.16 years on, and it’s still shocking how wonderfully austere it all is. 

4. And...finally. A Sith who acts somewhat sane. Despite the limits in the game model, Yuthura is an incredibly striking woman. You learn more from her about the Sith in five minutes than Lucas managed in five movies. (Thank you, Bioware!) And for better and worse, she explains it in a way that actually makes a degree of sense on why someone would go for that path. The biggest flaw in the whole thing is their definition of "strong" just means "I stabbed the other guy before he stabbed me." It's a narrow view of strength which caused them to do a better job of damaging themselves than they ever did the Republic. Little wonder the Rule of Two was a necessity.

5. And my competition is a bunch of those dull-witted punks who had nothing better to do than petty bullying around Dreshdae. Uthar, you're a classy and smart guy. Why did you waste effort on these clowns?

6. Y'know, on a meta level, it kinda makes me wonder just HOW Dustil got in this mess. Did Saul find him and pass a couple bribes to sneak him in as a kind of backhanded "apology" behind the scenes? Was Dustil a case like the Inquisitor, where he was intended as duel room fodder and climbed his way up instead? No matter what it was, there's a story involved...and his old man wouldn't want to know it.

7. I forgot just how much of a headache dealing with two hotheaded Onasi boys was. Hate to say it, but there is absolutely no mistaking Dustil for anyone ELSE'S son.  And massive kudos to Mardsen for being able to imitate Sbarge's speech pattern. I'm totally headcanoning it as a Telosian accent.  

8. Dak, I'm sorry you did not get the memo about Juhani being a lesbian. Probably would have saved you a lot of trouble. At least you are getting off this shithole planet.

9. Let's see...I goad Lashowe into a fight and get her killed, but it was her choice to draw the saber first instead of going back with me. I don't have to do much to get Kel to leave. I convince Mekel to leave, too. I exploit Shaardan's laziness and stupidity, getting him killed. I show Dustil that the Sith killed his girlfriend and get him to leave. I also learn that Yuthura really isn't so much evil as just doing the wrong thing for the right reasons and got lost along the way...So, of course, I'm going to befriend her and team up with her to nail Uthar. Like the Sith I am, I got rid of the competition. I just did it in the way we would see later running LS Sith on SWTOR.

10. Um...Carth. You REALLY shouldn't be able to see Ajunta Pal, much less understand what he's saying. Guess we can add that to the list.

11. Okay. So, I kill Uthar's former master and take his journal full of ramblings. I get rid of my competition. I also take care of the droid with the overdeveloped hearing.  I also hand Ajunta's cursed sword over to Uthar, making it his problem. I dose the Mandalorian so he lives, but also gives me the information Uthar wants, AND I let those students escape...while conning Uthar into giving me credit for all of it. The Sith are easier to swindle than Czerka.

12. I know that if you hit Korriban before the Leviathan that Kel and Yuthura end up on Dantooine. But since the Leviathan happened earlier, I kinda wonder where else they end up.

13. Gotta love laying waste to the Academy. It was their choice to come at me with the sabers lit, so not much of a choice on my end other than killing them in self-defense. Nothing screams “I’m a better Sith than all of you assholes put together” louder and harder than that, though.

14. On a meta level? An LS Sith heretic along the lines of LS!Warrior or Inquisitor, or Ashara and LS!Jaesa is probably a more accurate assessment of how I play my Revan than a Jedi. But that’s probably going to have to be its own post. 

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Demon Slayer 12 - 13 | OPM 23 - 24 (FINAL) | BSD 36 - 37 (FINAL) | Shield Hero 25 (FINAL) | Fruits Basket 12 - 13 | To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts 1 | Astra 1 | Maou-sama, Retry! 1 | UchiMusume 1 | Dr Stone 1 | Fire Force 1 | Granbelm 1

Summer debuts aplenty!

Demon Slayer 12

I assume the creature on the episode titlecard is a boar…?

I see…! So Kyogai uses the drums like a game controller! Y’know, like A = attack and directional keys to move.

I almost expected Inosuke to appear from behind the screen door, but it was just Tanjiro…

Huh? For some reason, I find Zenitsu funny now…but only the tiniest bit. Not enough to laugh out loud, but enough to give tiny “heh”s.

Well…that episode title didn’t lie, at least…

Ah-hah! I knew it! Knewwwwwwwww it! It’s the double-personality trope I liked 5 years ago (you see it embodied in Martin/Alter-Az). The only thing I didn’t know was how Zenitsu would become badass…well, now we know. He sleep fights…I still think ingesting blood to invoke a second personality is still way cooler though.

Shoichi? Is that the kid’s name?

“Marechi” doesn’t seem to mean anything…

“Show me your wounds.” Then again, there are some wounds that you can’t present to others…not unless you show the side effects.

As much as I was scared by Exposition Crow, I have to be thankful the little feathered buddy is around. I wouldn’t understand “marechi” otherwise. But seriously, where does that crow hide in his spare time…?

Oh…the duty of filial piety…I know your feel, Tanjiro.

Tanjiro’s brain!Zenitsu is so accurate, I LOLled…a tiny bit.

Tanjiro, you gotta remember: be proud of where you’ve gotten today! Don’t be the man you were yesterday! Keep evolving with the times like water itself, because that is what water is about – change! (triumphant music plays in the background to accompany this declaration)

The only problem I have with filial piety is…what happens when your family has only daughters???

OPM S2 Ep 11 (Ep 23)

Garou’s got a point in that villains are meant to be sympathetic in order to get a good story. However, I’d still root for the heroes all the same.

Naruto running…why’s it so popular???

“Mentsuyu” (on Saitama’s blue shirt) means “noodle soup base” = a mixture of dashi (soup stock), soy sauce, mirin and sugar.

It took me a replay to realise that Garou turned red when the tree fell down.

BSD 36

Uh, dude? Who calls their kid “Eruisu-chan”…? It’s Elise, isn’t it?

Katai – yet again, can I just say he is the husbando we need and not the husbando we want? (LOL) There’s even what appears to be a sake bottle in the bottom left corner…  

Is there such thing as a bullet-proof futon???

Come to think of it, this scene with all the rubble about halfway through the episode looks like it comes from the Dead Apple first key visual –the one that came out when the movie was announced. Not the Shin Soukoku one, the other one with Soukoku in a rubble-filled place looking at the horizon.

Looking at Natsume-sensei from the back reveals his hair is calico-coloured too…

I wonder how much of Dazai’s scheming is actually just Natsume-sensei…?

“What did you have for dinner last night?” “Yeah.” – Just imagining this with a monotone instead of Akutagawa’s usual anger is hilarious!

Snakes don’t run…?

Oh, I get why he was calling Akutagawa “bro”! When you’re married, you call your brother in law “brother” as well!

Bungou Stray Dogs 37 (FINAL)

I discovered something – the kanji under ECHO, 回向, are read ekou. What do they mean? The verb form means “to hold a memorial service for [someone]”, so I’d assume it’s “memorial service”.

For some reason, when Atsushi said “you’re not paying for this ride!”, I thought, “It’s your Ubr driver here”…LOL.

I seem to remember that Goncharov controls rock and his power is The Precipice…but I don’t remember reading past ch. 52…

“How can you be so sure?” I thought it was something like “Because that’s what I would do.” Turns out I was right…maybe I have read chapter 53??? Or is this a previous chapter that’s been movd forward???

Hmm…come to think of it, why is Akutagawa’s power to control fabric anyway? (Because he can control other things, it’s just that he chooses to use his coat as a default.) Does the Rashomon story have to do with that…?

Oh, that’s cute. Shin Soukoku are on the same thinking wavelength now. (somewhat sarcastic)

Come to think of it – season 1 anime!Atsushi was about as whiny as Zenitsu…hmm. Now there’s a cross-anime comparison I never thought I’d make.

“…what appears to be a hiker…” (or maybe it was multiple hikers…?)

Did you notice Akutagawa was missing his coat?

“Fancy hat boy” – That’s why the fandom calls Chuuya “Mr Fancy Hat”, LOL.

One thing’s for sure – whether you like BSD or not, you gotta admit they have a great sense of closure.

Shield Hero 25 (FINAL)

See? There is a Meteor move for Naofumi!

Raphtalia’s mostly been saying nothing but “Naofumi-sama” over and over again…it kind of irks me. It’s too bad I’m almost finished with this show.

I’m gussing the reward has to do with Raphtalia’s village.

Is Naofumi leaving???

LOL, before Naofumi faced the Waves, he was wavering…geddit??? (Oh, that joke’s terrible…)

Fruits Basket 12

I think Shigure attended the ceremony to procrastinate on his writing…LOL.

Okay…I started this episode a few days back and now I hav a bowl of piping hot pho to go with it! Let’s get back to business!

Momiji is a scheming little brat, ain’t he?

The “Yuki wearing a girls’ uniform” was funny…because reactions.

Hmm…even though I know what’s going to happen, I only just realised Akito and Yuki only seem to wear traditional Japanese dress when tied down to their curse or their main house. Westrn cloths thereby symbolise progress for them…but you can’t say the same for Shigure, though, so there goes that hypothesis…

I thought for a second they were going to play baseball…that’s what they did in Star Driver.

Fruits Basket 13

Snake attack!!!

Hmm…Ayame clearly used a convo diversionary tactic there (avoiding the topic).

“Aya says he sells men’s dreams.” – LOL.

Demon Slayer 13

I find it interesting Tanjiro also has respect for his opponent, not just empathy.

Aww…this message of recognising your skills and having them be recognised by others is cute. I needd that, really – ever since about a year ago, sometimes I’m so negative I just want to be erased from the face of the earth. That’s why I love Rokuhoudou so much – it was my solace from such thoughts.

Seeing the eyecatch’s strip go vertical for Zenitsu was interesting – I didn’t think it would change orientation midway through the show.

Okay, in this book I read recently – Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin – the protagonist admits to having “an overdeveloped sense of theatricality”…or dramaticism or something like that. I now realised Zenitsu has that too…although now he’s back to bugging me as a result.

Oh! So Inosuke was the 5th survivor! I had a feeling that would be the answer, but now I’ve confirmed it.

WHOA! I’ve never seen Tanjiro go all Papa Bear like this!

…and you can tell with that pre-OP shot that Ufotable ran out of budget for once.

The Legend of the Eight Samurai is also known as…wait for it…Hakkenden! There’s an anime called that, y’know? Update: It’s Satomi Nansou Hakkenden vs Hakkenden (with some subtitle on it).

To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts 1

First anime of summer! Now if only my CR would stop buffering so much…I’d be a happy person.

Oh…great. Fantasy information dump right here…just like Fairy Gone.

Is this weird that I recognise Patria to be…Korea? (At least in history. Its people seem to be generic Europeans.)

Is this a “dudes in war are scarred for life” thing again??? Please, please don’t let this be another Spec-Ops Asuka.

…and now here come the furries. (sarcastic)

Aren’t the white coats really impractical for battle???

If Cain isn’t a vampire or based on a bat…I dunno what I’d do, but I’m pretty sure he is, based on those pretty boy features.

I thought her name was Nancy…? Her name is Nancy Schaal Bancroft, after all.

Ooh! It’s the Abominable Walrus! I’m so scared~! (mocking tone)

This is basically an AI story, but fantasy-based, isn’t it…?

90s fire in the background…LOL.

“I’m going to ask Elaine to be with me.” – Now there’s something I didn’t think Hank would say.

LOL, Cain Madhouse really is mad! (in the Joker-style “insane” sort of way)

Well…uh, it was a bit predictable, but had its perks. I mean, there’s no CGI in it at all for one thing…I guess we wait for more (of this show and the debut of other shows) to see if it stays.

OPM S2 Ep 12 (Ep 24) (FINAL)

Shouldn’t that be “whale on an opponent”…?

What’s up with the montage, though???

*dead Centichoro* - Now that’s what I call “legs for miles”…! (LOL)

Astra 1

I’ve read some of the manga for this, so it’s my most anticipated anime this season! I can only hope it lives up to its own hype.

Double-length 1st episode! Ooh! Just like the manga’s double-length debut.

Okay, who decided on using CGI for Aries? Put it on the ship, not on her!

Oh, foreshadowing! Me likey.

I can’t really tell what Aries is meant to be screaming because she’s screaming over the woman, but it’s definitely not “beef” Aries is yelling.

Is it just me, or is there a frame around this scene at the Spaceport…?

I guess Aries is what they call a space case! (Wahaha!...Okay, I think that’s one stupid joke too many, now.)

Boob shot??? Why??? Also, according to the manga’s supplemental material found between chapters, Yun-Hua’s suit is newer than Aries’s (IIRC).

I definitely do not remember seeing a picture of Kanata’s sensei in the manga at all. I know Kanata refers to his sensei quite a bit, but…hmm…maybe the fact he looks like Charce means something. Update: For some reason, I remembered Charce as “Charles”…?

This scenery, with the ground making platforms in the air, looks like Dr Stone!!!

I just noticed the frame expanded after Kanata entered the sphere.

Did we need the flashback again???

Zetsubou is “despair”, at least from the way I learnt it – from Sayonara, Zetsubou-sensei, of course. It can be translated as “hopeless” in context, though.

Second recap from earlier in the episode. Well, at least it’s not Detective Conan or Demon Slayer bad…

Wow, they’re really trying to sell a potential Kanata x Aries ship here. That wasn’t in the manga either.

This is the 3rd time for the same recap…geesh. The things you notice when the episodes are compiled and online for you to watch…they can get kind of annoying.

I think the star = planet thing makes more sense when in Japanese, since “hoshi” can mean both. In English, it makes Aries sound like more of a space case…

Maou-sama, Retry! 1

…and the award for Most Boring Opening in a While goes to…this show!

I almost expected blonde!Rem to be called Rem…I knew that her name wasn’t Rem, but still…

Seriously? The face game of this show should be higher for it to pull off a gag involving funny faces…

The run cycle of this show’s…kinda suckish. Like Dororo’s one scene where he’s Naruto running.

“It’s you who is the root of all evil.”

UchiMusume 1

Aka “If It’s For My Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord”.

The language on the title card seems to be a substitute for English. If you just take that thing that looks like brackets as one symbol, that seems to be a Y. How can you tell? Because “little” matches the 3rd last word.

The devil language seems to be based on Japanese, though…at least from what I’m picking up. Update: Oh! So when she says “toilet”, it’s just the syllables backwards! Just like in Hataraku Maou-sama.

I swear, if this guy isn’t voiced by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, I’m going to have to swallow my hydralyte drink properly! (I’ve been struggling to drink it all day today.) Update: Nope, it’s Nobuhiko Okamoto.

I thought I just read something on the devil list that said “Bobble Space” in English…wuh?

Dr Stone 1

This is my 2nd most anticipated debut of the summer 2019 season. Let’s go!

Ooh, I see Crunchyroll even got themselves a fancy new intro card…which makes them more like what Funimation used to be on that front…

I know people have been comparing Senku’s hair to green onions…and now I can’t unsee it. Dang it, you guys! That’s the first real thought I’m having for this anime?!

*raises arms like Christ the Redeemer*…and Boichi and Riichiro Inagaki said, “Let there be light!”…and for some reason, it was green light…

Hmm…I thought in the manga Yuzuriha was shoved to the tree, which made Taiju look more like a hero to her. Turns out she ran to the tree then got petrified, if the anime is anything to go by.

I heard a really accurate “what’s happening?” in the scene which is meant to have English speakers in it…it’s almost creepy, to be honest with you.

Shuei…LOL. It’s clearly a play on Shueisha.

I didn’t think of this when reading the manga, but this anime’s very much a Holmes and Watson scenario…although Watson here is a little bit too dumb for some people’s liking…

I swear TMS used pictures of the real thing when looking at those grapes…

I love seeing Senku being pissed off. He’s so smug all the time, I needed that change of pace.

Maybe one day Senku will make vodka…LOL. I’m kidding.

Fire Force 1

Oh geesh…so Ohkubo grabbed the Aria from Ao no Exorcist to make his nuns work???

Why is there Naruto running???

“I’m a newly-assigned…”

Kyoukai means church. Does it really mean “cathedral” as well???

“Is that the scent of a damp woman?” – Uh, duuuuuuuude? Excuse-moi? That is not how you treat a lady you’ve just met…!

Can I insert a “Twinkletoes” comment from Toph (Avatar) yet…?

Okay, scrap that. Can I do that Overwatch “Molten CORE!” thing instead…?

Granbelm 1

I started watching this because it’s being promoted as “magical girls drive mechs”.

One of the mech ladies reminds me of…what’s her name…from the Re:Zero LNs…I believe her name is Beatrice, but that’s the name of one of the library loli, isn’t it…? *Googles* Okay, her name is Priscilla. AFAIK, “Priscilla” is NOT the name of the orange-haired lady in Granbelm, though… Update: Her name is Anna, actually.

These mechs remind me of Kim from Twinkle Star Sprites.

Wow…ripoff purple iPhone, much…?

Shingetsu = new moon, mangetsu = full moon.

I feel like Mangetsu is a relatable protagonist, but also annoying as a result of being relatable.

“Pennies from heaven” is a phrase you say to declare your good fortune, much like you say “speak of the devil” for bad luck when it comes to a certain person who arrives at the wrong time.

[lfthinkerwrites]

A Riddle for a Bat, pt. 14

Title: A Riddle for a Bat

Fandom: Batman

Pairing: Riddlebat

Rating: T

Chapter Summary: Edward gathers evidence against Thorne, but a face from the past threatens everything.

Previous Chapters: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13

AO3 Link

"So? Make any progress since we've seen you last, Mr. Nigma?"

Edward took a long gulp of water out of the glass Candace had given to him, all the while studying Thorne's facial expression. It had been slightly over twenty-four hours since he'd come face to face with Thorne and accepted his offer. Not long enough to make any kind of serious progress with his 'investigation', but long enough to have something to give to the crime lord. The man looked placid, almost friendly, sitting behind his oak desk, enforcers standing on either side of him, all with their eyes fixed on him. A lesser man might have trembled under such scrutiny, but not Edward. He was a man who relished an audience. He wet his lip, smirked and cleared his throat. This was the beginning of the greatest performance of his career. "Well, it's a bit premature to name names, but I have come up with a few deductions if you'd care to hear them."

Thorne extended a thick hand. He must have thought he looked magnanimous. "By all means."

Edward placed the glass on Thorne desk, then folded his hands. "Well, to start with, Batman, despite several feats that would suggest otherwise, is a man-"

"No shit," one of Thorne's men snorted. He was silenced by a steely glare from Thorne.

"If I may continue," Edward huffed. "He's a mortal man. He's also a singular man. His fighting style and approach to crimefighting is too consistent for it to be multiple men wearing the same costume. The man we're looking for is also somewhat older-"

"Older?" Candace questioned, standing beside Edward's chair with her arms folded. "I've seen him in action. He seems pretty spry to me."

"Older in the sense he's not a younger man," Edward clarified, resisting the urge to snap at being interrupted again. "Remember, he's been active for a decade, and we have to account for a training period before he donned the cape and cowl. He wasn't born knowing every martial art known to man. I would say that he's in his mid-thirties, forty at the oldest. Any older and his body would begin to break down from the physical stress."

"Well, that only leaves a few million suspects," Thorne said. "I hope you have a way to narrow that down."

"As a matter of fact, I do," Edward replied. "Figuring out Batman's identity is simple, depending on what direction you look at it from." The gangster looked at him dumbly and Edward had to bite back a laugh. And to think, Kristen thought he had to worry about him figuring out he was playing him. He didn't look like he could figure his way out of a wet paper bag. "The real question you need to ask is, how does Batman manage to stay active? Where does the money come from for his gadgets, his car, his plane? His upkeep can't come cheap."

Thorne rubbed his chin in thought. "Slush fund from City Hall and the GCPD?"

Edward chuckled a bit. "While that would explain this city's ridiculous tax rates, no. His tech is a bit too sophisticated to be funded by the city. GCPD clearly doesn't have access to it, or else they'd be using it as well."

Thorne's eyebrows raised. "You suspect he's privately funded. You think one of our rich socialites is moonlighting as a vigilante?"

"That would be ridiculous even for Gotham. I do think though, that he's being funded by them. The most likely scenario is that Batman himself is a current or former member of GCPD or some other law enforcement agency who also happens to be connected to one of the upper-class families in Gotham. Or perhaps he's a bodyguard. The best way to stop him isn't finding out his identity, per se-"

"But to cut off his funds," Thorne finished, a cold smile on his face. "Very clever, Mr. Nigma. So then, how do we figure out who's funding him?"

"Well, clearly, it has to be someone with an overdeveloped civic interest-"

"What about Wayne?" Candace interrupted. "Weren't his parents gunned down in an alley? He'd be pretty interested in wiping out crime."

Edward stiffened in his chair. He needed to get them off this train of thought, fast. "I've personally dealt with the man," he said quickly. "Nice, but a bit dim and no sense of discretion. He wouldn't be able to keep something like this a secret." Candace didn't look entirely convinced but didn't say anything else. "I have contacts in high places," Edward continued. "I can look into this question today, then report back what I find out."

"Good," Thorne said, pushing his chair back and standing up. "I have to say, Mr. Nigma, I'm impressed. In one afternoon, you've come closer to uncovering the truth behind Batman than anyone else in this city has for years."

Edward got out of his chair as well. "Well, I'm flattered, Mr. Thorne." Hardly. All he had done was tell Thorne basic conclusions he'd come to years ago, but the idiot didn't need to know that. "If I may ask," Edward asked. "What do you intend to do with the information I give you?"

Thorne chuckled a bit, then reached over to pat Edward on the shoulder. Edward inwardly bristled at the contact but showed no outward reaction. "Don't concern yourself too much with that Mr. Nigma," he said. "Just focus on your work. Come back here tomorrow afternoon with what you find out." His tone was final.

Edward picked up his cane. Nothing incriminating again and he only had two days left before he would put an end to this game. He needed to earn Thorne's trust and get him to open up. "Of course. Good day, Mr. Thorne."

It was dusk when Edward returned to his apartment, having run errands while he was out in case Thorne had him followed. He hung his hat and cane upon his coat rack before taking off his suit jacket and hanging it up. He loosened his tie and sighed. He'd held Thorne off for now, but he would need to deliver something tangible to him tomorrow to prevent any suspicion. He'd have to give a name. He ran a hand through his hair. Not Veronica or her family. She'd been too good to him. Not anyone who had been a client either. Candace had gotten too close to Bruce for comfort. No matter what, his name couldn't come up again. So then, who? Who was he going to expose to Thorne? He felt a slight breeze waft through his office and he relaxed slightly. "I haven't kept you waiting, have I?"

"No," Batman answered. Edward turned to see the man walk around his desk and up to him. He stopped inches away. "Are you alright?"

Edward nodded. "Thorne isn't any wiser to my game, but I'll need to give him information tomorrow to keep him that way."

"What kind of information?"

Edward rubbed his shoulder. "I...might have said that a socialite is funding Batman's activities to get him away from the idea of unmasking him specifically."

"I see." He wasn't angry, Edward noticed. He seemed matter of fact. "Will you?"

"I don't want to," Edward admitted. "But I don't see any way I can avoid it."

"I thought as much," the vigilante said. For the first time, Edward noticed that he was carrying a manilla envelope. He handed it over to Edward. "This is a fake profile I've put together. There's a picture and some basic biographical information. It should be enough to fool Thorne for the time being."

Edward pulled out the paperwork and looked at the photograph. It was of a square-jawed man with a hideous haircut and familiar blue eyes. He scanned the name and did a double take. "'Coleman Reese'?" Edward asked. "Mr. Reese? Mysteries? Seriously?"

"Thought you might pick up on that."

Edward put the paperwork back in the envelope and chuckled. "Never thought you'd have much of a sense of humor. So," he said looking up. "You just happen to have a fake profile ready to go? You really are prepared for everything."

"I try to be," Batman said. "There are some things though that I couldn't anticipate. Some people I never thought to prepare for."

Edward rubbed the back of his neck. "Was I-" his face flushed. "Am I one of those people?"

Batman was silent for a long moment. He took a step forward and Edward felt his heart begin to hammer in his chest. "Yes," he admitted. He was so close if he leaned down just an inch, he could-"Do you still feel safe around Thorne?"

Edward bit back a curse. "Yes," he said. He shook his head. "Honestly, you're a bit over-protective."

"I think I have a good reason to be."

"May I remind you that I personally dragged you out of a burning building and drove you to medical attention?" Edward placed his hands on his hips and glared up at the Dark Knight. "I can handle myself for two more days."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Batman's glove on his shoulder. "I know. Hopefully, you'll only need one day."

For such a powerfully built man, he had a gentle touch. Edward craved it more than anything. He wanted to melt into it. Impulsively, he grasped Batman's other hand and leaned his face upwards. "You know," he said. "Once this is over, it would be nice to talk to you about something other than Rupert Thorne."

Batman's facial expression didn't change, at least not that Edward could detect, but he felt the vigilante's hand slowly tighten around his own. "Yes," he said. "It would." Edward's heart leaped up and he closed his eyes almost expectantly. Then he felt Batman's grip loosen. He opened his eyes to see him climbing out the window to the fire escape. "Be safe, Edward," he said without looking back. "I'll be back tomorrow night." Then he disappeared.

Edward stood alone in his office and pouted. He'd been so close. Tomorrow. He'd get Thorne and Batman to open up to him tomorrow or he'd die trying.

Standing in front of the desk, Edward watched Thorne thumb through the contents of the manilla envelope with a mix of impatience and apprehension. It was a masterful forgery, Edward had to admit, but would Thorne see through it? Finally, Thorne put the papers down on his desk and looked up at Edward with a smile. "Well done, Mr. Nigma," he said. "Two days and you've found a potential source of Batman's income?"

Edward shrugged. "One credible suspect at least. Mr. Reese, in his position as CEO of a Tech corporation, has the ability to funnel tech Batman's way. He also donates extensively to law enforcement organizations in Gotham City. I think he's a more than credible lead. I've begun going through his financial records for proof, but it may take a while. I'm also looking into a few other suspects."

"Excellent!" Thorne said with a clap of his hands. "I should have hired you a long time ago. You're certainly less messy than my last hired help was."

Edward's ears pricked up. O'Reilly. Thorne was smart enough not to mention him by name, but that was the only person he could mean. He had him. He had him now. "Well," Edward said. "I do pride myself on my efficiency."

Thorne got out of his chair and extended his hand out. Edward narrowed his eyes, but took the hand and shook it, thankful for his habit of wearing gloves. "How would you like to join me for dinner tonight at the Falcon Club?" Thorne asked.

"I'm flattered, but I do have work I need to take care of," Edward answered.

Thorne shook his head. "Busy man. I like that. Well, don't let me keep you from it. Just come back tomorrow at Three. Depending on what you find out," Thorne smirked as he spoke. "I may decide to offer you a more permanent position in my organization."

I'd sooner have myself committed to Arkham Asylum than have anything to do with you and your organization, Edward thought. He smiled all the same. "I'll consider it. Thank you very much, Mr. Thorne." Edward withdrew his hand and tipped his hat to the man. "Until tomorrow." He turned and walked out the door and down the hall.

It took all that he had to avoid giggling as he made his way to the elevator. He had him. The fat fool actually wanted him to join his organization! Just one more slip, and he'd have Thorne dead to rights. He'd finally bring him down once and for all. When he told Batman tonight, the vigilante would want to kiss him. Well, at least Edward hoped so. He'd be pleased with him regardless. He passed a group of men in the hall walking towards Thorne's office but was too focused on thoughts both vengeful and romantic to pay them much mind.

By that time tomorrow, he would regret not looking at one of the men more closely, for the man had noticed him. Noticed and recognized him.

"Hey, Rupe? A couple of the boys found someone they think you should see."

Thorne sat back down at his desk, reading through the paperwork Nigma had left him. The private detective had exceeded all expectations so far, which left him in a good mood. "Alright. Send them in, Candace."

His office door opened and two of his enforcers came in, half escorting, half dragging a third man between them. Thorne looked up. The man in the middle paled when he met his gaze. He was a tall, well-built man. He looked vaguely familiar. "And you are?"

"This is Tom Dougherty boss," one of his enforcers said. "He used to be one of your guys in GCPD."

Tom Dougherty. Now Thorne remembered. "Ah, Officer Dougherty," he said. "I remember you." He scowled. "I remember you stole from me! Then you ran away for five years!"

Dougherty trembled and might have collapsed if the two men on either side of him didn't have such a firm grip on his shoulders. "Mr. Thorne, I'm sorry, I-"

Thorne banged his fist on the table. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't have you fed to the sharks!"

"No, boss!" Dougherty squealed. "I can explain-"

"We're a bit past explanations," Thorne growled. He gestured to his enforcers. "Take him to the docks-"

"No, wait!" Dougherty interrupted, with a desperate look on his face. "That guy who just left your office! The guy in the green suit! He's a cop!"

Thorne paused. "Mr. Nigma? Is that who you're talking about? There's a slight difference between a private detective and a cop, Dougherty. You ought to know that!"

"No, he really is a cop! His name's Nashton. Edward Nashton. I knew him in GCPD. Five years ago, he was a detective in Cybercrime's division!"

A detective? Was Nigma, or Nashton, or whoever he was, really attempting to take him for a ride? Was he really that arrogant, or was Dougherty that desperate? "Used to be? What happened?"

Dougherty had calmed down now, recounting the tale. "I used to date his dumb bitch friend in GCPD. I dumped her, she went crying to him that I beat her and he framed me! He's the reason I had to run, boss!"

Now Thorne knew Dougherty was lying. "He framed you for theft, did he? I suppose he magically made a couple thousand I was supposed to collect disappear, Dougherty? How stupid do you think I am? If he was a detective, why isn't he still in GCPD? Was he dirty?" Thorne could work with a dirty cop. It would explain quite a bit about Nigma, actually.

"No, he wasn't dirty! He hated mobsters! I'm telling you, he's playing you, boss! I can prove he used to be in GCPD!"

Thorne leaned back in his leather chair and considered this. Dougherty was lying about the money, that was obvious. He'd say anything to save his own skin. But if there was the slightest chance Nigma used to be in GCPD, Thorne needed to take care of that. Finally, he snapped his fingers and his enforcers stepped forward. "Walk Officer Dougherty through our GCPD files and see if he can spot Mr. Nigma. You have two hours." The enforcers nodded, then took Dougherty to a side room. Candace walked forward, shaking her head.

"What do you think, Rupe? Is he telling the truth about Nigma?"

"Oh, I'm certain he's lying about many things, but we need to be absolutely sure. It's not Nigma being a former cop that bothers me. Half the guys on my payroll are or used to be cops. It's the fact that if he was one, he's concealing it. He changed his name even. Why?"

Candace shrugged. "If he was as clean as Dougherty says he was, why would he be a private detective? Those guys are sleazy. He probably got turned down for a raise or a promotion and quit. I wouldn't worry too much about it."

Thorne rubbed his chin. "A man can change a lot in five years," he murmured. "But just to be sure...Candace, follow him back to his office and keep an eye on him. Make sure he hasn't been making any visits to GCPD."

[maraudersmessrs]

Remus Lupin and the Prisoner of Azkaban--- Chapter 30: With Friends Like These

Ao3 link

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 / Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21 / Chapter 22 / Chapter 23 / Chapter 24 / Chapter 25 / Chapter 26 / Chapter 27 / Chapter 28 / Chapter 29 / Chapter 30 / Chapter 31 / Chapter 32 / Chapter 33 / Chapter 34

The caretaker's mood hadn't improved since their--frankly, embarrassing--shouting match and after he had unlocked his office with an old, grungy looking key, he planted his feet as Remus went in.

 He looked back out at Filch curiously, but all the man did was stare at him sourly with his arms crossed, face still red. Obviously, he didn't want to trigger the boggart and expose his deepest fear. Not unreasonable, Remus had to admit, as he was not too eager to do so himself. And, considering his obvious humiliation at merely asking for help, Remus doubted he was prone to the sort of emotional vulnerability that would require. Unfortunate, that, as it would have saved both of them a great deal of frustration over the past few days if he had just been able to ask in the first place instead of trailing him like some sort of ill-tempered stalker, unable to put away his dislike of him long enough to ask him for help.

It is what it is, it will be what it will be. At least his search was over, the slowly mounting panic that he would not find anything in time was quenched. He would not be failing Harry. That in itself was like a sigh of relief and he felt it loosen his shoulders, his chest, his forehead. He couldn’t bear to have failed another Potter.

Filch’s office was just as dingy and oppressive as he remembered as a child; the same thicket of filing cabinets, the same ominous chains hung behind his desk--though now they sparked a twinge of revulsion, rather than fear. Returning to this place as he grew older revealed exactly how much pedagogical chicanery he had simply accepted as necessary fact as a student. The idea of such a punishment being used on a student, someone like Harry or Neville...Oh, we indeed are changing, aren’t we? Even just the implied threat of them was enough to set his teeth on edge. Grimly, he turned back to Filch, drawing his wand from his robe, rolling up his sleeves. “Where is it, Argus?” He asked, carefully keeping his voice polite.

Filch grunted and jerked his chin at a corner cabinet, one of the drawers pulled out halfway with a slew of papers strewn beneath it. “In there. Popped out when I opened it, few days ago. Haven’t gone near it.” He resumed glaring at Remus, as if it were his personal fault--maybe even his devious plan--that such a thing had found its way into his office. Granted, Remus thought, going back roughly 20 years, that wouldn’t have been out of the realm of possibility.

“Do you have a box of some sort? A chest?”

Filch made a scornful noise. “I’m not a novelty shop.”

“My mistake.” he said lightly. “ I suppose it isn’t fair to assume you should keep track of all those sorts of things. Well, I've done some exploring in my time, I'm sure I could dredge up something….” Pocketing his wand, he started to move toward the door.

Filch seemed to bristle like his cat and swiped a hand through the air to make him stay where he was, snarling as he stomped away, “I know where they are.”

Remus laced his hands behind him as he waited, stifling an unseemly chuckle--really, Remus--as he innocently scanning the pages scattered on the ground, presumably dropped in shock at the appearance of the boggart. Filch must have been refiling, for this parchment seemed older than those piled on his cluttered desk, yellowed and stained, bearing the dates--

He blinked. That’s….

Stooping, he drew his wand a cautiously sidled up to crouch by the file cabinet, lifting a few pages from the floor, eyes on the cabinet. No movement from the drawer. He backed off, back to the doorway and read;

ttigrew caught with contraband material. Confiscated. Reported. Punishment unadministered.

ALL FILES PERTAINING TO SIRIUS BLACK, JAMES POTTER, REMUS LUPIN, AND PETER PETTIGREW ARE FORTHWITH COMPILED INTO A SINGLE DOCUMENT FOR  FILING SPACE

NOVEMBER 20th, 1974

Black and Potter caught out of bed. Claimed to be sleep walking. Reported. Punishment unconfirmed.

DECEMBER 2nd, 1974

ALL THE QUILLS FROM THE STAFF ROOM ARE GONE IT WAS THEM I CAN'T PROVE IT BUT I KNOW THOSE

(here, it devolved into a string of rather spectacular and slightly illegible cursing)

DECEMBER 13th, 1974

Black, Potter, Lupin, and Pettigrew all caught at the edge of the Forest. Claimed they weren't going in. Reported. No punishment administered. Ludicrous.

DECEMBER 15th, 1974

Black refuses REFUSES to stop throwing tinsel everywhere he goes. He claims it's not him, but I've SEEN it after he leaves a room. I've confiscated it all, there is no more tinsel on the tree, it is contraband whERE IS HE GETTING THIS TINSEL DUMBLEDORE CLAIMS IT'S FESTIVE AND I CAN'T PROVE IT I CAN'T BELIE

DECBER 15t 1974 secnd enrty

MI NIATURE REIND E E R HOW THIS IS N

FULL BRIEFING FOR THE MONTH OF DECEMBER 1974 HAS BEEN MOVED AND COMPILED INTO SEPARATE DAMN FILE SEE CABINET E

He almost began to feel sorry for the man again, until he glanced at the well-oiled chains hanging eagerly on the wall. Perhaps not. An odd combination of bright mirth and aching longing twisted within his chest. Oh, the reindeer had been complicated, hadn't they; quite the illegal charm bauble Sirius had had squirreled away from Knockturn Alley.…

The muttered cursing and puffing of the returning Filch stopped him from reading more but he did not hide the parchment as the caretaker came in, face now a sticky shade of maroon and slammed a packing trunk down on the floor. Filch's eyes darted to the file, but Remus just smiled pleasantly and said, “Thank you.”

“What's that.”

He gestured with the parchment to the pile on the floor. “My file, it seems. Or, our file. Part of it. It's...ah….” Amusing was going to be his next word, but the curdled look on Filch's face made him reconsider. “Quite a read.”

Filch said nothing, watery eyes venomous, glaring at him as if he was a particularly revolting stain that wouldn't come out of a rug. Well, back to business, it seems. He could not ever remember the caretaker being so tight lipped before, when he was a student, being on the receiving end of a countless number of tirades and threat laden rants. Do we only punch down, Argus? He wondered, dryly. Not willing to pick on someone your own size? Sirius had always teased that he had an overdeveloped sense of justice.

And we see how that turned out…

Remus shook his head, tight lipped, and planted himself firmly in this space. Enough. No more stalling. He let the parchment flutter to the floor. “Close the door, if you would, please."

With wand, he popped the lid on the trunk and spun it facing the file cabinet. Then, he took firm hold of the drawer handle and pulled it wider as he heard the door snap shut.

Immediately, the boggart boiled from the cobwebbed depths, congealing as a huge, sickly moon before him, drawing the same jolt of reflexive nausea and panic it always did. His mind knew it was a creature vainly trying to scare him, his body only knew that such a sight meant agony, terror, and loss. Wand steadily aimed, Remus couldn't help a glance at Filch, to find he was nowhere to be seen, door shut--probably around the corner in the corridor. Fair enough. He might have figured whatever would scare a werewolf would not be something he wanted to see.

Raising his wand, he settled on the spell to force it in--and hesitated. Pushed the drawer so it slid shut, leaving the boggart nowhere to return to. The moon edged nervously sideways, slowly, as if looking for a way out. Curiously, he stepped back until he was almost against the opposite wall, giving it ample room and watched the orb bobble before turning his back on it, as if considering something interesting in the rough grey stone. The faint glow that had silvered the edges of the cabinets and chains abruptly disappeared as a scrape and a thunk rang out behind him. When he turned back, the trunk had been pushed a bit off center, the lid shut, as if something had thrown itself inside at speed.

Well. No need to over-complicate things, it seemed. Not all boggart captures were so easy, especially in his experience, but with such a small room with no place big enough to squeeze into, it had taken the bait. All very humane and so simple, a Muggle could do it; though, after its first few trips in and out of the trunk, he doubted that would still be the case. He knelt by the trunk, securing it both physically and magically before levitating it beside him. It rattled, agitated at the movement, but was otherwise inert. He was about to open the door and bring back his prize, triumphant, sore, and quite dusty, when he hesitated again and looked back to the pile of files on the ground. Pensively, he rubbed a hand over his chin. It couldn't hurt….

Filch was indeed down the corridor, far from the door as he lovingly stroked Mrs. Norris, who was curled up in his arms. As he approached, they both glanced up with identical, baleful looks.  “Successfully removed, Argus. Thank you, by the way--I've been looking for one of these everywhere.”

The caretaker looked as if he rather detested the idea that he had made Remus’ life easier, but managed an aggressive shrug. “Just get it gone from here is all I want.”

“You're welcome,” said Remus, though Filch had said nothing close to prompting this, which seemed to irritate the man more. Remus began to fancy some part of himself was doing that on purpose. “Oh--I had a question; probably impertinent of me--”

“Unsurprising,” Filch muttered, which Remus chose not to hear.

“--but about that file, I was wondering….” He cleared his throat. “I was wondering if I could have it.”

Filch was silent for a long moment, eyes going between Remus’ face, the trunk, and the door to his office, mouth twisting as he scowled suspiciously, obviously weighing something. Mrs. Norris gave a warbling yowl, for Filch’s hands had stilled. Frankly, as the moments passed, Remus was surprised that he seemed to be considering it at all, as he had known full well what the answer would be the moment he had asked. He mentally braced to give a friendly face to whatever biting remark was coming.

Then, Filch grunted, “Fine.”

Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise, “Oh. Well, tha-”

Filch continued, “It's not like anyone who cares about it is alive anymore,” He eyed him. “'Cept you.”

Remus smile went cool around the abrupt squeeze in his chest, hand tightening on his wand that guided the trunk. “...Thank you. For your generosity,” he said, mildly.

Another grunt as he stumped past him into his office. The door slammed, leaving him alone in the corridor with the boggart and an ache from the well placed blow. How was it that conversations with Severus and Argus always made him feel as if he was dueling? Quite the feint. Nice wind up; hit square in the gut. Well. He had gotten everything he wanted, hadn't he? A rewarded search and a momento; success by any definition. Slightly tarnished, perhaps….

Filch returned sans cat, brandishing a file sleeve of parchment thick enough to be a text book, which he dropped without much care into Remus’ arms. Then, he left without a word. And returned with another file, more disorganized and crammed haphazardly, making it bulge more than the first. And again, 2 more times, each seeming bigger than the last, until Remus’ fingers were clinging desperately around the bottom lip of the stack and his already protesting arm muscles began to tremble slightly. Something like 10 files, all thick enough to be stocked on the library as a manuscript reached past his chin, braced against his cheekbone, smelling of mildew, dust, and dry parchment. Filch gave him a dubious, appraising look and growled, “That’s it.”

With difficulty and partly bracing the stack with his knee, Remus managed to free his wand to tap the stack. Immediately, the weight lightened considerably, allowing him to hold it in one hand, the other steadying the top and he looked back at Filch and gave a pleasant smile. “Thank you, aga--” he began, but all he saw was the back of Filch’s threadbare robe as he returned to his office wordlessly.

He looked down at the packing case, hovering demurely near his knees. “Well, then.”

[tamboradventure]

How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020

Posted: 2/17/2020 | February 17th, 2020

After years on the sidelines, sustainable travel has made its way to the forefront of the travel industry. Environmentally friendly travel is now one of the fastest-growing movements in the industry, and I, for one, welcome this trend. It’s an incredibly important topic that I’ve been writing about for years.

After all, why destroy what you love? No one wants to see paradise paved over. We all cringe when we return to an overdeveloped, polluted destination. None of us want to contribute to that.

Being an eco-friendly traveler is simply being a respectful traveler.

As we strive to become more environmentally conscious, the questions for travelers become:

Just how do we “green” our travels?

What can we do to lower our carbon footprint as we travel the world?

How can we better interact with the communities we visit?

What changes can we make that are actually helpful?

Flight shaming people is not the answer, but do we all just stay home and quit traveling?

Fortunately, there’s actually a lot we can do as travelers to reduce our ecological footprint while contributing to the sustainability of the communities we visit.

Here are 13 concrete ways to reduce your environmental impact as a traveler:  

1. Stay Close to Home

Though the exotic is always appealing, travel doesn’t have to be about going somewhere far away. Travel is the art of exploration and discovery — and that can just as well be nearby. Find somewhere close to home you haven’t been, get in your car (or better yet, take the bus), and go visit. You never know what you’ll come across!

“X” is always the most interesting place on the map.  

2. Make Greener Transportation Choices

If you can, try to travel by train or bus. Not only does this reduce your carbon footprint but companies like FlixBus, Megabus, and Greyhound always have some cheap tickets, so you can save money too.

And when traveling by car, consider offering rides to other travelers to lower your collective emissions and cut costs. Many people will be happy to chip in for gas if it saves them time, which means you can save money and lower your carbon footprint at the same time. Win-win! That will cut your per-person transportation emissions in half (if not more). Use platforms like BlaBlaCar, Couchsurfing, and Craigslist to find rideshares near you.

Avoid flying or driving long distances by yourself whenever you can.  

3. Travel Slow

When we travel abroad, we have a tendency to rush around from place to place, trying to soak in as many sights as possible. I get that. After all, not everyone can be permanent nomads, and when you have limited time and aren’t sure if you’re coming back again, I can see why people “travel fast.”

However, not only does this raise your transportation costs since you’re moving a lot, you end up increasing your carbon footprint. All those trains, buses, and planes add up. The fewer you take, the better.

Additionally, being a good traveler not only means reducing your carbon footprint but also doing good by the communities you visit. Day-tripping brings in very little money to communities but impacts their infrastructure heavily (it’s why the city of Hallstatt in Austria is restricting day tours). So try to stay at a destination for a least a night.

Traveling to fewer destinations is good not only for your wallet and the climate, it’s good for local communities as well.

(Plus, slowing your travels will let you get to know places in a deeper way, since you’ll get to spend more time there. In travel, less can be more.)  

4. Pack Smart

While the specifics of will depend on where you’re going, there are a few things you’ll want to bring with you to help you travel more sustainably:

Reusable water bottle – Nalgene makes durable bottles that are BPA-free and made in the USA.

Water filter – Many destinations don’t have potable water, which means you’re going to be using tons of single-use plastic. Instead, bring a Lifestraw or SteriPen. These devices will purify your water so you can drink from practically anywhere, ensuring you can avoid single-use plastic bottles.

Tote bag/stuff sack – If you’re traveling long-term, bring a tote back or an extra stuff sack. You can use them for buying groceries and avoid plastic bags. At other times, they can be used to keep your bag organized.

Diva cup – This is a reusable menstrual cup. While I can’t speak from personal experience, it’s something our resident solo female travel expert packs when she travels, since menstrual products are not always available (and can also be quite wasteful).

Utensils – Travel cutlery (a fork, knife, and spoon, or just a spork or a set of chopsticks) can come in handy if you’re on a budget and plan on cooking your own meals. But they’re also useful for street food and eating out, as you can avoid plastic cutlery.

Additionally, bring a small Tupperware container for leftovers. I always find myself with extra food when I cook in hostels. This helps avoid waste and provides food for the next day. It’s an amazing travel hack surprisingly few people make use of.  

5. Fly with Fewer Connections

While I don’t believe in flight shaming, it’s impossible to deny that flying does have a hefty carbon impact. In addition to limiting your flying, try to use longer flights with fewer connections. Twenty-five percent of airplane emissions occur during takeoff and landing, which means if you fly shorter flights with more connections, your emissions will be drastically higher.

Flying direct is simply the better option environmentally, so opt for that whenever possible.  

6. Avoid Overvisited Destinations

If you can, avoid cities grappling with overtourism. You’ll find fewer crowds and lower prices, and you also won’t be putting as much strain on local communities struggling to keep up. (And, from a sheer personal-enjoyment point of view, who wants to deal with crowds or long lines? No one.)

If you do visit overtouristed places, such as Venice, Amsterdam, or Barcelona, pick a hotel or hostel instead of using sites like Airbnb. Apartment rentals drive up rents for locals and force them out of the city center. Unless you’re going to share accommodation with a local by renting a room from them (or using Couchsurfing), stick to hotels and hostels. Airbnb and similar sites really are detrimental to cities that don’t have a lot of housing.  

7. Take Public Transportation

After walking, public transportation is the next best way to explore new destinations. On arrival, head to the local tourism office to learn about the options (as well as any visitor discounts available for public transit).

If you do need a taxi, use ridesharing apps instead. Uber and Lyft have a “pool” option in many cities, which lets you split your ride with other travelers. While it may take a little longer to get to your destination, it will save you money and ensure that your ride is as eco-friendly as possible.

When it comes to longer distances, budget buses are your best way of getting around, since they usually pack in a lot of passengers. Megabus and FlixBus are two of the most popular options.

  8. Eat Local

Food that is imported has a much higher carbon footprint than locally grown food (and it’s usually not as fresh either). To keep your carbon footprint down, eat like a local. Stick to foods that are grown locally, and avoid packaged and imported foods much as possible. This will ensure that you’re eating seasonal produce, which not only is going to be the freshest but will also support the local economy. (Also, stick to organic food if you can.)

Sure, the odd Western comfort meal is not the end of the world, but the more you eat locally, the more you reduce your environmental footprint and the more you help the local economy as well. After all, you didn’t come to Thailand to eat a burger you could get at home, right?  

9. Cut Back on Meat and Dairy

I’m not saying you need to go vegan. I love meat and never plan to give up bacon. But if you’re concerned with the impact of your food, reducing your meat and dairy intake is extremely helpful. Over 25% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food — and the majority of those emissions are from animal products. So by cutting back on your meat and dairy consumption, you’ll drastically reduce your carbon footprint. (Avoid Brazilian beef if you can, as lot comes from cleared rainforest land. Cattle ranching is the #1 cause of rainforest deforestation in the world. Same for soy too.)

Plus, it’s never been easier to travel as a vegan or vegetarian, as there are tons of amazing restaurants out there — as well as apps to help you find them (you can download the HappyCow app to find the best vegan and vegetarian options near you).

Even if you take meat and dairy out of one meal a week, you’ll be moving the needle in favor of a lower carbon footprint and a more ethical diet.  

10. Avoid Animal Attractions

Part of traveling green is helping the other creatures that inhabit his earth. That means you should avoid any and all attractions that use captive wild animals for entertainment. The most common offenders are riding elephants, swimming with dolphins, visiting captive whales, and petting (drugged) tigers. These activities require animal abuse and imprisonment and should be avoided.

Animals are best viewed in their natural habitats. If you want to see them, go on a safari, jungle hike, or whale-watching tour and see the animals where they belong, in the wild.

If you want to be an ethical and responsible traveler, stick to taking photographs and avoid direct interactions with animals.

For more information on animal tourism and how to avoid it, check out these helpful organizations:

World Animal Protection

Wildlife Watch

  11. Reduce Your Plastic Use

I hate plastic. It creates a ton of waste. From plastic bottles to toothpaste tubes to shopping bags, plastic sucks. I admit I’m not perfect, and I still use too much, but I’m always trying to reduce my consumption (both at home and abroad).

Avoiding plastic as much as possible is a great way to reduce your environmental impact. You can buy a reusable water bottle, use toothpaste tabs, carry your own cutlery, and travel with a canvas bag for starters.

Additionally, skip the plastic straws and cutlery and avoid getting take-out unless it comes in biodegradable containers. Straws can take 200 years to biodegrade, and plastic bags take 20. Don’t let a few minutes of convenience endanger the planet. Skip the plastic.  

12. Cut Back on Cruises

Cruises are one of the worst offenders when it comes to carbon footprints and overtourism. Taking a cruise has the same average per-person carbon footprint as flying from London to Tokyo — round-trip. That’s almost 20,000 kilometers (12,500 miles)!

Thanks to cruises, carbon emissions in popular port cities can be so high that thousands of people actually die prematurely every year.

And to top it all off, day-trippers from cruises visits are overwhelming local economies, driving up prices, forcing out locals, and creating destinations that are over-reliant on tourism.

Don’t get me wrong: cruises are a fun way to travel. But if you’re looking to lower your environmental footprint, you’ll want to avoid cruises as much as possible.  

13. Take a Nature-Related Trip

Travel is one of the best personal development tools there is. It opens you up to a whole new world and widens your perspective of so many things — people, culture, history, food, and so much more.

If you want to better understand and appreciate the natural world, try taking a trip with the sole purpose of connecting with nature. Head to the Australian Outback, go diving and swim around coral reefs, visit national parks, camp in the Moroccan desert, stay a few weeks in a town with little or no electricity, canoe down the Amazon River, or spend a few nights under the stars in a field close to home.

Do something that gets you in touch with the world in a way that sitting at home with all the electricity and free-flowing running water doesn’t. I promise that when you come home, you’ll have a new perspective on why we’re all so focused on being environmentally friendly these days.

It doesn’t take much to see that we are living unsustainably and something’s got to give. Going on a nature adventure can get you to think differently when it comes to the environment and how important it is for us to treat it well.

***

Traveling in a more green and eco-friendly way is something we should all aspire to. As travelers, it’s our responsibility to make sure that, while we explore the globe, we do so in a way that doesn’t harm the planet or the local communities that we visit.

With a few simple changes, you can all become better and more sustainable travelers. You just need to take that first step. Action begets action, and the more actions you take, the easier the other ones will be.

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner or Momondo. They are my two favorite search engines, because they search websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld as they have the largest inventory. If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com, as they consistently return the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels. I use them all the time.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it, as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. I’ve been using World Nomads for ten years. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

World Nomads (for everyone below 70)

Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)

Looking for the best companies to save money with? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel! I list all those I use — and they’ll save you time and money too!

The post How to Become a Sustainable Traveler in 2020 appeared first on Nomadic Matt's Travel Site.

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[tunesof1982]

11. Down Under - Men at Work

You better run, you better take cover! 

Released: October 1981 in Australia, mid-1982 in North America. The song took hold in Canada earlier than the United States, a testament to Canada’s historic fondness for Australasian music. In October 1982, the song topped the Canadian charts; it didn’t even enter the American Hot 100 until November. (It eventually hit #1 there, too, and hit the top 10 of eleven other countries. This song was MASSIVE.) Song history: Written by the group’s co-founders Colin Hay and Ron Strykert for the group’s debut album, Business as Usual (the best-selling album of 1982 in Canada). The song was based on a small bass riff/percussion sample that Strykert had created. Hay found himself fascinated with the sample, and one day while listening to it on a drive, he came up with the chords and later the words. Highest chart position in Canada: #1 Fun fact: I could go into the big court case that resulted from the alleged plagiarization of children’s song “Kookaburra,” but that is a long and depressing tale, so instead, have this amusing tidbit from Songfacts, about the song’s famously silly video: “The guy who stands up and offers the Vegemite sandwich is the band's drummer, Jerry Speiser. He wasn't really ‘6 foot 4 and full of muscles’ - he had to stand on something to get extra height. He also wore a wig.”

My take: I find that this song doesn’t get taken seriously as it deserves. That seems to be due to two elements: the video, which is indeed very silly, and the lyrics, which at first glance seem to be composed of gratuitous, impenetrable Australian references. It’s not regarded as a bad song, per se, but more like a novelty. It’s a shame, since I do think this is a very good song: well-written, clearly produced, multilayered, and catchy as all get-out. And unique. There’s a reason most people picture this song when they hear the words “Australian music”; aside from maybe Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning”, there aren’t too many big pop songs that deal with Australian identity and culture.

The lyricist, Colin Hay, insists that it’s not a purely patriotic song, but something more akin to Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.”--a song that superficially appears to be about celebrating one’s country of origin, while really delving into other issues. In this case, those issues are the overdevelopment of Australia, the loss of a national history, and the things that we choose to celebrate as a culture. I don’t know if I see all that, but I do agree that there’s more to this song than meets the eye. Australia is given a mixed portrayal: on the one hand a beautiful, prosperous land, on the other a nation of beer-swilling hooligans. The people in this song primarily relate to the protagonist in stereotypical terms (the “land down under,” the Vegemite sandwich, the beer), and I can sort of tie that back to the idea that certain cultural elements, including commercial products, are propped up as being emblematic of a nation, while its real history is minimized. (See: Canada and its own love affair with Tim Horton’s, which has successfully built itself into our national identity.) But mostly I hear it as an ambivalent but ultimately proud take on being Australian.

I think where this song really succeeds, though, is in its arrangement. It’s probably the catchiest song I’ve covered so far, and that comes down to both the sheer hookiness and the stellar production. This song is packed with hooks, from the iconic flute riff, to the main vocal melody, to the warm harmonies, to the guitar flourishes that decorate the verses. And yet none of it is overwhelming, thanks to the clean production. So often in pop music, there are great parts that are buried in the mix, but here every musical element can be heard clearly, and it’s nice. It also sounds unique. I like that there’s flute - it’s an instrument you don’t hear often in pop songs, and it gives the song an appropriately “foreign” quality. The slight reggae beat works nicely, too.

Hay’s vocal is even more interesting. He starts out very tempered, simply singing the melody in his regular range, and with every verse his singing gets more and more exaggerated. This coincides with the lyrical content--the more he starts to take pride in being Australian, the more his vocal grows louder, higher, and gutsier. Another great example of music and lyrics coming together. Only towards the end of the song does he start to really go nuts, with lengthened notes and ad-libs. It’s a bit much, but I think he’s entitled.

Downsides? The silliness does wear thin, and I can only listen to it a few times in a row before it starts to get on my nerves. But overall, a well-crafted and enjoyable song.

My rating: 8/10. A very good song indeed, but Men at Work can--and did--get even better. Wait and see.

[thejesusreport]

THE END TIMES ARE HERE: TRUMP, BREXIT AND ISIS AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR THE FUTURE

December 1, 2016 (RE-BLOG from Avenger-Equalizer blog) 

THE END TIMES ARE HERE: TRUMP, BREXIT AND ISIS AND WHAT THEY MEAN FOR THE FUTURE 

 BY STEPHEN M. THERIAULT 

 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (emphasis added) 

Those who are students of the Book of Revelation will appreciate the timeliness of my message. For in no time in recorded history has a more sinister man become leader of the free world! As I have previously said, I strongly assert that Donald J. Trump is the anti-Christ and the “son of perdition” who has been revealed in this extraordinary year of 2016. Trump, a fittingly charismatic, if morally bankrupt, leader, most clearly opposes God’s commands given through Jesus Christ and has exalted himself above God, morality and righteousness. But the above passage also forewarns us that before the “Beast” or anti-Christ comes into the world and announces himself, there will be a falling away of the faithful, which we can see all over the western world, with churches closing and losing members and the vast majority of our youth claiming they “don’t believe in organized religion.” In counseling and talking with young people, I heard that phrase time and time again, yet I can’t criticize or judge as Jesus taught us that formal churches tend to be greedy and self-serving, pastors looking mostly for “filthy lucre” and propounding the “Gospel of abundance”, claiming that if you pray and believe and give dollars to the church you will not only be “saved” but will financially and materially prosper. The abundance fallacy is pulled from one lone passage in the New Testament, but Jesus was not a believer in the power of material wealth and the efficacy of the love of, and hoarding of, money. But that is another essay, and I want to get back to the coming of the End Times, which is ushered in by the faithlessness of this generation and by the coming of the anti-Christ and his cohort (the beast and false prophet of Revelation). 

So now we have step one, the falling away of the faithful, which is undeniably happening as we have lost most of our Judeo-Christian and Biblical principles undergirding our culture and legal system. And we have step two, the revealing of the son of perdition, Mr. Trump. Step three is the key, the coming of Jesus Christ, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. The next thing is the most terrifying war we’ve ever encountered, the Battle of Armageddon. The good thing about this war is that Jesus wins and the Beast and False Prophet are cast down to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone (hell) where Satan has already been cast. I know most of you “5% Christians” are skeptical that this really will happen, but who would have predicted that Donald Trump would be President? But it’s happening and the war will happen and those written in the book of life (the True Church) will be saved along with a few faithful men (apostles, prophets and martyrs) and 144,000 male virgins who will act as eunuchs, serving the Court of Jesus Christ and His Bride the True Church. This is all in the Book of Revelation. I know this is hard to believe, but it’s definitely coming and we better be ready for the end as we never know when Jesus will appear on His white horse, commanding all the legions of angels and those few men who are on His side in the battle. Those whose names are not written in the Book of Life and who have worshipped the beast or Satan, or have the mark of the evil one on their bodies, will be killed and cast down to the Lake of Fire with the anti-Christ and “false prophet” (who represents the false male church which gives the first Beast (or anti-Christ) power through his charisma). Too surreal to be true? 9/11 ushered in a period of tribulation and fear the world had never known since the plagues of the Middle and Dark Ages. So who would have predicted the World Trade Center towers would be totally destroyed in one hour? (me!) Revelation speaks of this and I wrote about it and predicted it in my book, The Practical Guide to Real Christianity, in late 2000/early 2001. In this article, I have purposely not quoted the Bible extensively in the interest of brevity and for an incentive for readers to pick up the Source of all inspiration, the Holy Scriptures and take a look for themselves. The impending terrorist threat from “Islamic Extremism” in the form of “ISIS” also affirms that the time is near for the final battle. I proffer that radical jihad and the European meltdown which is “Brexit”, are further examples of the world finally throwing off stability and sane governance and starting to look to extremism, scapegoating and populist demagogues to fulfill their lust for radical change and a new tolerance and even love for hatred, violence, racism, extremism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and other forms of narrow-minded hate and bigotry. Our masses are deluded enough to elect a raging racist, bigoted power monger in the U.S. and in Europe cast away a half- century of unity and cooperation, while claiming to fear a formless radical element which can’t win a war but can inflict much terror and bloodshed. ISIS itself is not the end of the world, but Trump’s response to it might just be! And European chaos over Brexit, refugees and money troubles keeps it from being a sane check on the unbridled spiteful, fear-mongering lunacy of Donald Trump. Armageddon is claimed to take place in the Middle East, and that makes perfect sense. But we need the Son of Man on the White Horse to take charge, defeat the anti-Christ and the evil extremists, and rule with a rod of iron, a benign dictatorship of Biblical proportions, covering the whole earth. This is what Revelation predicts and I, for one, believe in the inerrant Scriptures. We are in the end times and the coming of Christ and the Final Battle looms over us like an impending dark storm! For those men who have been judged unworthy, I offer you mercy but not salvation. Women and girls of the True Church, the time is coming for justice and your reward. Men have hated you, hated your softness and femininity and they treated you horribly, causing your hardening and cynicism, and they are judged for it, as are those women who have conspired against God. (Women will not get the Lake of Fire, which was prepared for the devil and his henchmen) Don’t be sad for men’s destruction as this excising of the male cancer is necessary to provide you with an unpolluted Kingdom of Heaven. The honeymoon awaits. The war has just begun. “The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness.” 1 Corinthians 3:19 “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” Mark 8:36 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” Galatians 6:8 

 STEPHEN THERIAULT IS AUTHOR OF THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO REAL CHRISTIANITY AND IS ORGANIZER/FOUNDER OF INTERNATIONAL CITIZENS AGAINST CORRUPTION AND OVERDEVELOPMENT (ICACO), AMERICAN CITIZENS AGAINST CORRUPTION (ACAC) AND AMERICANS AGAINST OVERDEVELOPMENT (AAO) AMONG OTHERS, WHICH CAN BE FOUND ON FACEBOOK.COM. HIS WEBSITE AND BLOG: WWW.THEAVENGER.US ALSO, THE “AVENGER/EQUALIZER BLOG” IS ALSO ON FACEBOOK (AVENGER/EQUALIZER BLOG) AND TUMBLR (AVENGER-EQUALIZER BLOG). GO TO: WWW.TUMBLR.COM/BLOG/AVENGER-EQUALIZER

[authorjanellesamara-blog]

Sugar Cookies and Snickerdoodles

Sugar cookies are one of the simplest cookies you can make. They’re also pretty versatile. You can leave them plain, ice them, turn them into snickerdoodles, or so much more. This week, I’m sharing my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Bonus—they’re not cut-out cookies, so you don’t have to roll them out or waste tough scraps!

Varieties

Basic Sugar Cookies

The simplest thing you can do with this dough is roll it in granulated sugar. You can use a 2-ounce scoop for big cookies. For mini cookies, I use a 1.5-ounce scoop, then split the ball in half. For fun, seasonal cookies, you can roll it in colored sugar. Wilton even has seasonal canisters that have several different colors of sugar, and a few different kinds of sprinkles.

To put sprinkles on instead of sugar, I recommend dipping only the top if you’re not using silicone baking mats. If you just use regular baking sheets or parchment paper, the sprinkles can burn on the bottom of the cookies. Silicone baking mats or insulated cookie sheets will help prevent sprinkles from burning or browning. I always use one or the other.

You might notice that my cool silicone baking mat? It’s a real Silpat and I’ve been using my set for over a decade. I have also bought cheaper silicone mats. Don’t. Cheaper ones are shit. Spend the money and buy a real Silpat.

Iced Sugar Cookies

If you plan on putting icing on your cookies, don’t dip them in sugar and don’t use a silicone baking mat. They should be baked on parchment paper to keep them from sticking. Don’t ever use cooking spray to keep these cookies from sticking. It will soak into the cookie and slightly alter the taste. Skimping on quality or process leads to a lesser quality of product. Don’t do it.

Cookie icing can be made or purchased. You’ll probably want to buy some. Oh, you don’t? Cool, cool. I’ve got you. Here’s a quick icing recipe.

Royal Icing

3 TBSP meringue powder

6 TBSP warm water

1/2 tsp of lemon or orange extract

1 lb. (4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted

Beat the first three until blended, then add the sugar one cup at a time. If it’s too thin, add more sugar little by little. If it’s too thick, add more water 1/2 tsp at a time. This icing can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks. Don’t keep it in the fridge because you’ll never get it set up correctly after that.

I use Wilton brand gel colors to tint my icing. You can also leave out the extract and color your icing with Kool-Aide packets. If you do this, I recommend making it the day before you need to use it and stirring it again to ensure that the flavor/color crystals have dissolved.

To use this icing on cookies, you have to use a piping bag. You don’t even need a metal tip in it! You can just snip off the tip once you fill the bag. I like to put the bag in a tall, sturdy glass to hold it up for me while I fill it. Be careful not to cut off too much of the tip, or your icing will just run out the end of the bag. If you try to spread it with a knife, it will just run off the side of the cookies. First, pipe the edge of the cookies. Not too close, but not too far away, either. You’ll get the hang of it pretty fast. Do the edges of all of the cookies, then go back to finish filling in the center, working in the same order you did before. There are all sorts of fun stuff you can do with icing, but I won’t get into any of that here. Maybe in a few months when I cover Christmas cookies.

Snickerdoodles

To turn these plain old sugar cookies into scrumptious snickerdoodles, all you have to do is make some cinnamon-sugar and drag them through it. For every 1/4 cup of granulated sugar, you want one TBSP of cinnamon. So, for one full cup of sugar, I use 4 TBSP of cinnamon. I usually keep some pre-made in my kitchen.

My secret is to drag them twice—once before baking, and once after. I guess it’s not much of a secret, though, since so many other people do, too. I was actually surprised to learn that anyone doesn’t. So, yeah…there’s that. You’ll need two different bowls of cinnamon-sugar because there are raw eggs in the cookies. Use one bowl to coat the raw dough, then a different bowl to drag the cookies through once they’re out of the oven.

Cross-contamination should always be avoided at all costs by implementing frequent handwashing and being conscious of when you’ve touched raw things before you touch cooked things or stuff that will come into contact with read-to-eat items. For example, don’t touch your oven mitt with raw-egg-hands because there’s always the chance you might accidentally touch a finished cookie with that same bit of fabric when you pull it out of the oven. Don’t set up your cooling racks with raw-egg-hands. No one likes food poisoning. Be safe in your kitchen and you won’t make the people you feed sick.

Sandwich Cookies

If you want to make little sandwich cookies, you’ll want to use frosting, not icing. The difference is that frosting stays soft, and icing dries and gets hard. I recommend using a small star-shaped tip to make the edges pretty. Now, you want another recipe for frosting, don’t you? Ok…fine.

American Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 TBSP milk or cream

Beat the butter in a mixer until smooth, but don’t whip a bunch of air into it yet. Add the sugar one cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl each time you stop the mixer. I add the milk right before I add the second cup, then I add the vanilla before I dump in the last half cup. If it is too thick, add more milk or cream 1/2 a tsp at a time. If it’s too thin to hold it’s shape, add a bit more sugar, but no more that a TBSP or two at a time. But, now is the time you can start to whip air into it to make it lighter, fluffier, and to make it hold it’s shape better.

Now, let’s get down to the dirty of things…

Mise en place

That’s French for get your shit together. Make sure you have all of your equipment and ingredients before you start mixing anything together. Because I’m writing about so many varieties in this blog, I can’t really give you a comprehensive list. You’ll have to sort it out yourself. All of them need a mixer, bowls, measuring utensils, something to scrape the sides of the bowl, and cookie sheets. You’ll also need cooling racks. But, do you need piping bags? Food coloring? Fun sprinkles?

Drop Sugar Cookie Recipe

1 cup (two sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar

1/2 tsp salt (I use pink Himalayan or Falk salt)

1 large egg

1 TBSP vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

more sugar for rolling, if they won’t be iced or frosted

Line your insulated cookie sheets with parchment, or your regular cookie sheets with silicone mats. Set the oven to 350, or 325 for convection ovens.

Cream together the butter, salt, and sugar until well blended, but don’t overmix. The more air you have in these cookies, the more they’ll expand and subsequently fall after baking. Scrape down the sides.

Mix in the egg and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and the bottom to make sure it’s all mixed evenly.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients—flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add it to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Be cautious of overmixing, as this will develop the gluten strands more and lead to a tougher cookie.

An average sized cookie would be about two TBSP of dough, but I like to use my scoop. It’s 1.5 ounces and it makes a good size. For little cookies, I use my scoop, then split the balls in half.

Roll the balls in sugar, cinnamon-sugar, or sprinkles (or leave them plain if you’re icing them) and place them 2-3 inches apart, depending on their size. For full-sized cookies, they’ll bake for 11-13 minutes. For smaller ones, 8-10. I do one large cookie sheet at a time on the center rack and rotate it halfway through. Unless you have a convection (forced-air) oven, I wouldn’t recommend baking two sheets at a time as they’ll bake unevenly, even with a turn.

It’s so hard to tell when cookies are done, right? These shouldn’t brown. If they do, they’re overdone and you’ll want to eat them first before they get hard. The tops should look a little crinkly and they shouldn’t look wet anymore. The bottom edges should just be starting to turn a light golden color when they are done.

Give them a few minutes to cool on the sheet before you move them to a cooling rack. If you coated them in either sugar or cinnamon-sugar, drag the cookies through a new, clean bowl of sugar on their way to the cooling rack. If you coated them in sprinkles, don’t bother; they won’t stick. But that extra coat of sugar or cinnamon-sugar makes them extra delicious.

Cool completely before icing, frosting, or stacking the cookies.

If you want to make the dough itself colored, add food coloring to the butter/sugar mixture. DO NOT mix it in after the flour is mixed in or you will overdevelop the gluten.

What’d I miss? Questions? Comments? Leave me a note below in the comments section.

[avenger-equalizer-blog]

God says Hurricanes are Bigger in Texas

God says Hurricanes are Bigger in Texas Dear Editor: I don’t like to boast or brag, unlike other men, that I have power or any special gifts. But I will say that I possess the gift of discernment and objective judgment. I am an evangelist and environmentalist, a counselor and a manager, a meek, humble Christian and a strong and bold advocate of what I see are the problems confronting our nation and world. Centuries ago, people believed that natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes were signs from God, but our new “rationalistic” science-trusting world now believes that God is just a warm and fuzzy concept and has no role or power over the “real world” events which affect our lives. I am writing today to dispel that notion that either the world is just a meaningless, chaotic, randomly selected pile of minerals and carbon-based life-forms, or that there is a “higher power” which I’ll call God and “He” (for the sake of traditional Scriptural writings) just stands back from far away and lets it all happen as it does. I believe He did that for many centuries, particularly in the post-Old Testament times and in the early and middle ages. But I believe now we are in the “end times” and that Jesus Christ is coming. And we’ve seen our share of signs and miracles that the time of the Second Coming is quickly coming upon us. We’ve seen terrible hurricanes, like Harvey and Katrina, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts, famines, disease epidemics, etc. We’ve seen our (the Christian and western world’s) enemies wreak terrible havoc through terrorist attacks, just as in Old Testament times, the Jews were enslaved first by the Egyptians and then by the Assyrians and Babylonians and Persians. We’ve also seen the world warmer than it’s been in many millennia, caused by man’s industrial excesses, especially its archaic reliance on fossil fuels, and we’re watching the sea-levels rise (SLR) in reaction to our melting ice-caps. Our technology has seen nuclear radiation disasters, chemical poisoning of large populations, the devastation of our rainforests by misguided attempts to profit or subsist by destroying the oxygen producing forests on which our planet’s atmosphere relies and causing many thousands of extinctions of species which could be the source of medicinal cures for cancer and other terrible diseases. We’ve destroyed over half of our world’s wetlands, both inland and coastal, including the decimation of our critical tropical mangrove forests and our coral barrier reefs both of which are necessary to sustain a healthy and living ocean environment. Due to pollution and overfishing and overdevelopment our fish and other sea creatures’ populations have plunged in many areas of the globe. Back to the hurricane. Harvey is wreaking havoc on the Texas coast and the huge Houston metro area, home to over 6 million people. The 30 to 50 inches of rain which has fallen has turned streets and alleys into rivers and homes and backyards into swamps, causing tremendous amounts of property damage and some loss of life. Katrina was terrible in its huge loss of life and the partial destruction of a major U.S. city, which has taken many years only to partially recover. Harvey could be worse. (Like the song, Jesus is going to rock the world like a HURRICANE!!!) But is it global warming causing these 1,000-year storms and floods? What about all the deadly tornadoes and fracking-caused earthquakes (and tsunamis and mudslides and so on?) We have paved over our cities and countryside, recall that Houston is half the size of New England! Impervious surfaces cause runoff to flood into neighborhoods and homes, destroy businesses and wreak huge financial losses for our federal government and its flood insurance program. We haven’t learned to protect our land and its original ecology (nor our polluted air and water resources), so we are reaping the whirlwind of God’s wrath. With the anti-Christ in power in Washington, and people, especially young people, falling away from faith in Jesus and God (and many delusional pseudo-Christians in the heartland following the Beast/Anti-Christ) , what we are now seeing with Harvey and his predecessors is the sign that Jesus is coming to defeat the “Beast and False Prophet” of the book of Revelation, and to send the anti-Christ and all that follow his selfish, lying, violent ways down to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone: hell, Hades, Gehenna. Most men will be judged by their own actions and predilections for money, status, power and material luxuries which they use lies, deceptions and violence to obtain. Only a handful of generous, sacrificially-giving males will be spared; apostles, martyrs, prophets and those who gave alms and volunteered out of love, rather than ego. Also, there will be 144,000 virgin males who will serve as eunuchs in the Court of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church. (Rev. 14:3-4) As I’ve written before, the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13 ”Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”), half-way decent, hard-working men have pridefully boasted of their accomplishments, and selfishly amassed material and financial wealth (“kings of their castles”) without much of an attempt to share their wealth with those who don’t even have enough to eat. These men may have the temperature in hell turned down a notch in the name of mercy, but they will definitely not be invited to the loving Kingdom of Heaven. Men have utterly failed to obey the commands of Christ and have hated their wives and girlfriends and treated them with utter contempt and failed to love and give to their neighbor and enemies. Church leaders and church-going men profess faith but, with extremely rare exceptions, are “1%“ Christians. They are judged for the way they treated women, each other, and the earth, each of which suffered over the millennia since the first Adam and Eve, or caveman, walked the earth. These devastating “natural disasters” are not now merely nature’s random effects, but a sign that God’s wrath is coming in the form of Jesus Christ, the warrior riding on a white horse, coming to destroy the anti-Christ (Trump?) and the False Prophet (Billy Graham and his ilk) and with the sword which proceeds from His mouth, Jesus will slay all you men until your carcasses lay rotting on the earth, fodder for vultures. Haven’t you “good old boys” from the Lone Star State seen the writing on the wall? Wasn’t Katrina and plane crashes enough (recall TWA 800 and Air Alaska)? Wasn’t 9/11 enough to change your minds towards repentance? What about AIDS, isn’t it strange and “coincidental” that it targeted gay men and promiscuity and was much less severe in the female and lesbian population? During these end times, we should look at all natural calamities as works of God while we remember that God loves all of us and chastises those He loves. But He wants us to turn away from filthy lucre, the lesson of 9/11 for you stockbrokers and money-obsessed guys. (God could have stopped the Muslims from their terror but chose to give America and the world a lesson in wrath as He has stopped nuclear holocaust from occurring) He also wants us to love one another more than we love money. He wants us honest and humble. Not boastful and proud and boldly attempting to deceive the masses into buying products they don’t need and sometimes don’t even want. Our relationships have devolved to such a point that we all look for solace not in God and spirituality but in electronic gadgets, luxuries, money bringing an evil spirit of decadence and crass materialism and conspicuous consumption. God spelled out that we cannot serve Him and money at the same time. And the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) You can look these up in the Bible. The Bible also says that “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) The “good ole boys” certainly look foolish now, for how can they come to our Lord without confessing their guilt and repenting? And if I’ve learned anything it is that men don’t honestly or easily say they’re sorry nor do they change and repent and turn away from evil. What Jesus wants is mass repentance. That goes for the fat, rich, arrogant and lazy women called in Revelation (Rev. 19:2, et al), the “Great Whores” as they give their bodies and “love” only to those guys who can pull in top dollar salaries or who have massive bank accounts. The fashion economy will be thrown down once the beasts who supply the whores are no longer there to be sugar-daddies and who have let the whores ride them to ruin. But all this comes from a lack of faithfulness to Jesus, God the Father, and Scripture and a general “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” which many men are guilty of and which is the unforgivable sin. If you’ve attacked Jesus by claiming that His Spirit-inspired works are evil and of the devil, you are guilty of the unforgivable sin. So now we must realize that God’s wrath is coming but most importantly that Jesus will be here before you know it. You “winners” in Houston should get ready and take care of any personal business, and that goes for men throughout this planet. Imagine how God feels about the arrogance and evil of the corrupt governments throughout the world, the environmental devastation, the heating and disruption of the atmosphere and the melting polar ice caps, How about all the murders at the hands of mostly men. What percentage of murders and criminals are women? 1%? Probably less as men often judge wrongly and put innocent women who try to repent in jail. For those who don’t believe me or who do not believe in a transcendent and judging God, be warned, for God’s wrath is coming. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36 God knows your heart and everything you’ve said or done. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” The “flesh” represents men’s ego. May the True Church learn to forgive and love one another and to pray for and have mercy on the beastly men who will be cast down to the Lake of Fire. If the reader doesn’t believe me, just wait a while. I will keep telling the truth until people begin to listen to me.

[xtonhurts]

It's long past time for an update...

Where I’m At

My medical leave, which was originally supposed to be just 8 weeks, is now going on its 8th month. I’m not exactly better, in some ways I’m worse, but I know now more of what I need to do to get there.

Since I last posted about this I’ve seen more than a dozen doctors and other health professionals. Most of them I’m not seeing anymore. This past week I went to 11 appointments. It was a slightly busy week.

My current diagnosis is pudendal neuralgia, a.k.a. pudendal nerve entrapment, a.k.a. cyclist’s syndrome. It’s not common and I lack many of the usual symptoms which is probably why it took two years to diagnose.

So where do you go if your pudendal nerve is screwed up? You go to Dr. Weiss at the Pacific Center for Pelvic Pain and Dysfunction. He has more knowledge about pelvic dysfunction in one finger than any other professional I’d seen before then. That’s the finger that goes up your butt, which is how he does most of his work.

I’m also seeing one of his PTs. I’m also seeing a physiatrist/osteopath. I’m also seeing a psychiatrist. I’m also seeing a yoga instructor. I’m also seeing a podiatrist for a secondary injury that came from standing too much and favoring my left side. I also see a chiropractor and an acupuncturist for when I get crazy back spasms from the weird postures that favoring my butt has put me into. My calendar is surprisingly full these days.

So what’s actually wrong?

Rewind to two years ago. I was working too much and spending a lot of time sitting on the bus. I was racing bikes. I was skateboarding with poor form and overdeveloping my left leg weirdly. Those may have cause minor injuries, but the tipping point came when I crashed hard on my knee 10 miles into a 120 mile gravel race, then finished. Biking with a knee injury is apparently a common way for the pudendal nerve to get screwed up.

I continued to work and bike and hope things would get better but the pain only got worse. Many misdiagnoses and improper treatments later and I found myself unable to sit down. Every time the nerve would flare up the surrounding muscles would tense up to protect the area, eventually developing trigger points and muscle spasms that caused pain and injury on their own.

Standing all the time caused my feet to flatten out, gaining me an extra shoe size and leading to an injury due to bad fit. Slouching or lying on my stomach in an attempt to relax caused my neck and upper back to go on strike.

The pain itself became an issue. The cruel joke of chronic pain is that the longer you’re in pain, the better your body gets at producing pain. Your nervous system, endocrine system, and others get shifted into overdrive. It takes less and less external stimuli to trigger a pain signal, keeping you locked into pain. Insomnia, anxiety, depression add to the mix.

So what now?

Dr. Weiss works internally to free up the pudendal nerve and loosen the muscles that were compressing it. His PT, Christi, works externally to help the surrounding tissue heal. She also gives me assigned reading and lifestyle advice. Dr. Irène Minkowski does mysterious other things and helps with holistic issues. She’s also the one that referred me to Dr. Weiss. I work with my yoga instructor on Christi’s advice to come up with a practice that gets me moving without making things worse (no mean feat). I go to therapy and take drugs to keep my anxiety and depression in check so I can relax and sleep and heal.

I go for long walks. I swim. I draw. I keep a pain journal. I practice yoga. I meditate. I play video games and watch TV. I make long lists of things to do every day.

Right now the name of the game is to identify and address the secondary issues and help my body relax so my nerves can heal. Nerves take a long time to heal. Christi has a goal for me to structure my activities so that I can go a whole day without pain. I’m not there yet. Once there it’ll be a process of gradually increasing activity (like sitting) to reverse the effects of chronic pain.

It’s frustrating, but we’re making progress. I don’t have major flare-ups as often and I recover faster when I do. Dr. Weiss finds this encouraging. How much longer? I don’t know. We’re applying for another 3 month extension on my leave of absence. Wish me luck!

[themodernvedic]

Gym Vs Yoga

Yoga Asanas have a deeper significance value in the development of the physical, mental and spiritual personality of a person.Pure exercises on the other hand have a physical effect on our muscles and bones only. Physical exercises in the gym are performed quickly, with a lot of heavy breathing and exertion.The acrobatic, gymnastic exercises and weight lifting systems are suitable for healthy people to develop large muscles or flexibility. Very large muscles, in particular, require more nutrition and a greater supply of blood. Consequently, the heart and respiratory system have to work much harder. In this way, there is exhaustion of vital energy.

After doing these exercises a young person may feel  fit and healthy, but as he grows older, his bodily functions slow down; Problems of stiffness and rheumatism start to occur due to overuse of the cartilage in the bone joints. The overdeveloped muscles become flabby and lose their firmness and the muscle tissue turns into fat. Even a young person, if he discontinues his body building practices for a month or more, will rapidly accumulate fat in place of his bulging muscles.

Gymnastic exercises, weight lifting and other body exercises are not suitable for everyone. A sick or weak person, small children or old people certainly cannot do them. Furthermore, they do not provide the relaxation and rejuvenation which people need.

What is the Difference between Gym Exercises and Yoga Asanas?

Yoga Gym Effective Organs Yoga is effective on all the parts of the body,from head to toe.There is an asana for every part of our body Gym is effective only to the specific parts of the body.Exercises affect the physical parts of our body. Loss of Energy Loss of energy is less since yoga asana offer rejuvenation as well. Extensive Sweating with extensive loss of energy as well as calories. Freshness and flexibility Yoga makes you feel fresh and energetic. Drains you of all your energy giving you a tired feeling. Eligibility Yoga can be practiced by anyone irrespective of their age or sex. One can practice at the Gym only after a certain age.Children are advised not to do gym since it affects their growth. Effect on Internal Organs Yoga energizes all internal systems of body. Gym has no affect on the internal organs.It gives you outer physical body an appealing look. Stress and Psycho Diseases Yoga is majorly done to reduce stress.Since it affects your internal organs as well,it keeps you healthy throughout improving your immunity and keeping you away from all diseases. Gym does not have  psychological affect on you thus it does not ensure that you stay away from diseases.

Yes, they are completely different and far more comprehensive. Yoga asanas are performed with relaxation and concentration. In this way, both the external and internal systems are influenced, so that the nervous system, endocrine glands and internal organs as well as the muscles are encouraged to function properly. Thus asanas have a physical and psychosomatic effect which is helpful in curing infirmities. They can be done by both healthy and unhealthy people, young and old. They are most useful for both concentration and meditation. Other systems of physical exercises  increase the toxins in the body, whereas asanas reduce the toxin level.One cannot say that gym is better or yoga is better as both have their benefits on our body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDLrev2yQxg

Benefits of Gym and other exercises

Keep muscles fit Enhance respiration and perspiration Helps in weight loss Gives your muscles proper shape Increase appetite and food consumption https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YAtvXzgyZU

Benefits of Yoga

Keep you active and relaxed throughout the day Help improve your body movement Your mind and body are in sync Improves blood circulation Relieve you of all anxiety and tension thus keeping you stress-free. Can be practiced anytime,anywhere and everywhere. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2IcOOUqNgI One can argue that gym workouts are better than yoga and vice-versa.

Disadvantages of Gym

Gym Memberships are costly and you can't avoid paying the gym fees since the exercise machines are much more costly and you can't buy them all.A gym offers all the machines at one place making it an ideal place to spend your money You need to have a proper diet with Gym,what with all the protein shakes and supplements,which needless to say have side-effects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKoqS2mUpNI When you quit gym your muscles get all flabby and get converted into fat at a faster rate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwZsCmM4WdM You become Diet conscious because of gym and are forced to miss out on you favorite eatables.Should I eat it or should i not?Will this affect my tummy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcY3QHLsSnw Only a few muscles namely neck,shoulders,back,chest,triceps,biceps,forearms,abdominal,hips and calves are targeted. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnXfk07uPdM Needless to say you take a great risk in using all the heavy machinery and dumbbells. God forbid if any weight was to fall on any part of your body,you are heavily injured for at-least a month.Who wants that ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFdLi2jX9YQ Extensive sweating along with improper intake of fluids could lead to dehydration and many other problems. You loose your strength.Since you have pain in your muscles the whole day,how can you expect yourself to stay energetic and strong? Gym Exercises cannot be performed by people of all ages.Especially youngsters are advised not to join gym before the cross their teens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR1HuNlXw54 When you quit gym,even you heart suffers.For several weeks after quitting the Gym, it remains healthy and fit but later  on it starts to decline. Heavy workout can destroy your sex life.Who wants that? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9Di6EKK3yw

Disadvantages of Yoga

No exercise is perfect and so is yoga,it also has some disadvantages. If want to tone and shape your muscles through yoga,you may be disappointed. Yoga is not easy to learn. A lot of flexibility is needed to practice all the poses of yoga,especially for fat men and women some poses are not possible at all. Yoga is done incorrectly,can cause cramps in your muscles and body. I cannot think of any other serious disadvantages of practicing yoga.If you think there is some more disadvantage associated with practicing yoga on a regular basis,feel free to mention so in the comments.

General benefits of Yoga

Physical : The important Endocrinol system is controlled and regulated so that the correct quantities of the different hormones are secreted from all the glands in our body. This has repercussions on our physical well being as well as on our mental attitude towards life. Even if one gland is malfunctioning, a noticeable loss in health may be experienced. Diseased organs can be repaired, rejuvenated and encouraged to carry out their normal duty through regular practice of yoga asanas. The muscles and bones, nervous system, glandular system, respiratory system, excretory system and circulatory systems are coordinated so that they help one another. Asanas make the body flexible and helps the body in adjusting itself easily to the changes in environment. The digestive functions are stimulated so that the correct amount of digestive juices (saliva,enzymes etc.) flow. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are brought into a state of balance so that the internal organs they control, are neither overactive nor under-active. To summarize, we can say that asanas maintain our physical body at an optimum condition and encourage an unhealthy body, to become healthy.

Mental: Asanas make the mind strong and ready to endure pain,stress and unhappiness. The power of determination and concentration are developed through yoga asanas Equilibrium and vitality become the normal state of mind after regular practice of asanas. You will be able to face the sorrow, anxieties and problems of the world with peace, without being disturbed. Stability of mind is developed, life becomes easy and difficulties become stepping stones to perfect mental health. The practice of asanas releases the dormant potentialities so that a man is able to radiate confidence and inspire others by his speech, behavior and actions.

Spiritual: Asanas are the third step in the eight-fold path of raja yoga, their purpose being to make the body steady for higher techniques of pratyahara (sense withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), leading to the culmination and samadhi (cosmic realization).

Hatha yoga is deeply concerned with preparing the body for higher spiritual techniques. These techniques are described in ancient texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Gherand Samhita. Although asanas in themselves may not give you spiritual realization, they put you on the spiritual path. Some people have the mistaken idea that asanas are only physical and have no connection with the spiritual path. This is a wrong concept. Asanas are almost a necessity for all spiritual aspirants to awaken their psychic faculties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU3HuPNsyG4 To conclude,I would like to present these 14 reasons to state why yoga is better than the Gym: 1. Yoga benefits our mind, body and spirit. 2. Yoga benefits your full body—externally as well as internally. 3. Yoga helps you believe that you are perfect,the way you are. 4. Yoga is about focusing on yourself. 5. Yoga will make you lean and fit. 6. You can do yoga anywhere,anyplace anytime. 7. Yoga is kinder to the body causing less or no pain to the doer. 8. Yoga eases the pains in your body. 9. Yoga improves your breathing. 10. Yoga is calms your mind. 11. Yoga reduces stress. 12. Everyone can practice yoga ie. no age or gender restrictions. 13. Yoga improves your concentration abilities. 14.  Yoga is Cheap and has no constraints

Related Videos

Yoga Vs Gym

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRmNJ5ROddc

Better Workout Yoga or Gym

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsaPcbNjjcI

Yoga Benefits for Bodybuilding

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7ENJYsoDDA  

Better Workout : Yoga or Gym ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liV2ywFt4Kc

Asana: The Medical Benefits of Hatha Yoga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZYNY-J3jlg

You Are What You Eat : Sri Swami Satchidananda (Integral Yoga)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MkwGTX0F_A

Hatha Yoga: Full 12 Asana Session

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyHkJF9LDRg Click to Post

[thejesusreport]

God says Hurricanes are Bigger in Texas

God says Hurricanes are Bigger in Texas Dear Editor: I don’t like to boast or brag, unlike other men, that I have power or any special gifts. But I will say that I possess the gift of discernment and objective judgment. I am an evangelist and environmentalist, a counselor and a manager, a meek, humble Christian and a strong and bold advocate of what I see are the problems confronting our nation and world. Centuries ago, people believed that natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes were signs from God, but our new “rationalistic” science-trusting world now believes that God is just a warm and fuzzy concept and has no role or power over the “real world” events which affect our lives. I am writing today to dispel that notion that either the world is just a meaningless, chaotic, randomly selected pile of minerals and carbon-based life-forms, or that there is a “higher power” which I’ll call God and “He” (for the sake of traditional Scriptural writings) just stands back from far away and lets it all happen as it does. I believe He did that for many centuries, particularly in the post-Old Testament times and in the early and middle ages. But I believe now we are in the “end times” and that Jesus Christ is coming. And we’ve seen our share of signs and miracles that the time of the Second Coming is quickly coming upon us. We’ve seen terrible hurricanes, like Harvey and Katrina, tsunamis, typhoons, earthquakes, tornadoes, droughts, famines, disease epidemics, etc. We’ve seen our (the Christian and western world’s) enemies wreak terrible havoc through terrorist attacks, just as in Old Testament times, the Jews were enslaved first by the Egyptians and then by the Assyrians and Babylonians and Persians. We’ve also seen the world warmer than it’s been in many millennia, caused by man’s industrial excesses, especially its archaic reliance on fossil fuels, and we’re watching the sea-levels rise (SLR) in reaction to our melting ice-caps. Our technology has seen nuclear radiation disasters, chemical poisoning of large populations, the devastation of our rainforests by misguided attempts to profit or subsist by destroying the oxygen producing forests on which our planet’s atmosphere relies and causing many thousands of extinctions of species which could be the source of medicinal cures for cancer and other terrible diseases. We’ve destroyed over half of our world’s wetlands, both inland and coastal, including the decimation of our critical tropical mangrove forests and our coral barrier reefs both of which are necessary to sustain a healthy and living ocean environment. Due to pollution and overfishing and overdevelopment our fish and other sea creatures’ populations have plunged in many areas of the globe. Back to the hurricane. Harvey is wreaking havoc on the Texas coast and the huge Houston metro area, home to over 6 million people. The 30 to 50 inches of rain which has fallen has turned streets and alleys into rivers and homes and backyards into swamps, causing tremendous amounts of property damage and some loss of life. Katrina was terrible in its huge loss of life and the partial destruction of a major U.S. city, which has taken many years only to partially recover. Harvey could be worse. (Like the song, Jesus is going to rock the world like a HURRICANE!!!) But is it global warming causing these 1,000-year storms and floods? What about all the deadly tornadoes and fracking-caused earthquakes (and tsunamis and mudslides and so on?) We have paved over our cities and countryside, recall that Houston is half the size of New England! Impervious surfaces cause runoff to flood into neighborhoods and homes, destroy businesses and wreak huge financial losses for our federal government and its flood insurance program. We haven’t learned to protect our land and its original ecology (nor our polluted air and water resources), so we are reaping the whirlwind of God’s wrath. With the anti-Christ in power in Washington, and people, especially young people, falling away from faith in Jesus and God (and many delusional pseudo-Christians in the heartland following the Beast/Anti-Christ) , what we are now seeing with Harvey and his predecessors is the sign that Jesus is coming to defeat the “Beast and False Prophet” of the book of Revelation, and to send the anti-Christ and all that follow his selfish, lying, violent ways down to the Lake of Fire and Brimstone: hell, Hades, Gehenna. Most men will be judged by their own actions and predilections for money, status, power and material luxuries which they use lies, deceptions and violence to obtain. Only a handful of generous, sacrificially-giving males will be spared; apostles, martyrs, prophets and those who gave alms and volunteered out of love, rather than ego. Also, there will be 144,000 virgin males who will serve as eunuchs in the Court of Jesus Christ and His Bride, the Church. (Rev. 14:3-4) As I’ve written before, the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13 ”Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.”), half-way decent, hard-working men have pridefully boasted of their accomplishments, and selfishly amassed material and financial wealth (“kings of their castles”) without much of an attempt to share their wealth with those who don’t even have enough to eat. These men may have the temperature in hell turned down a notch in the name of mercy, but they will definitely not be invited to the loving Kingdom of Heaven. Men have utterly failed to obey the commands of Christ and have hated their wives and girlfriends and treated them with utter contempt and failed to love and give to their neighbor and enemies. Church leaders and church-going men profess faith but, with extremely rare exceptions, are “1%“ Christians. They are judged for the way they treated women, each other, and the earth, each of which suffered over the millennia since the first Adam and Eve, or caveman, walked the earth. These devastating “natural disasters” are not now merely nature’s random effects, but a sign that God’s wrath is coming in the form of Jesus Christ, the warrior riding on a white horse, coming to destroy the anti-Christ (Trump?) and the False Prophet (Billy Graham and his ilk) and with the sword which proceeds from His mouth, Jesus will slay all you men until your carcasses lay rotting on the earth, fodder for vultures. Haven’t you “good old boys” from the Lone Star State seen the writing on the wall? Wasn’t Katrina and plane crashes enough (recall TWA 800 and Air Alaska)? Wasn’t 9/11 enough to change your minds towards repentance? What about AIDS, isn’t it strange and “coincidental” that it targeted gay men and promiscuity and was much less severe in the female and lesbian population? During these end times, we should look at all natural calamities as works of God while we remember that God loves all of us and chastises those He loves. But He wants us to turn away from filthy lucre, the lesson of 9/11 for you stockbrokers and money-obsessed guys. (God could have stopped the Muslims from their terror but chose to give America and the world a lesson in wrath as He has stopped nuclear holocaust from occurring) He also wants us to love one another more than we love money. He wants us honest and humble. Not boastful and proud and boldly attempting to deceive the masses into buying products they don’t need and sometimes don’t even want. Our relationships have devolved to such a point that we all look for solace not in God and spirituality but in electronic gadgets, luxuries, money bringing an evil spirit of decadence and crass materialism and conspicuous consumption. God spelled out that we cannot serve Him and money at the same time. And the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10) You can look these up in the Bible. The Bible also says that “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) The “good ole boys” certainly look foolish now, for how can they come to our Lord without confessing their guilt and repenting? And if I’ve learned anything it is that men don’t honestly or easily say they’re sorry nor do they change and repent and turn away from evil. What Jesus wants is mass repentance. That goes for the fat, rich, arrogant and lazy women called in Revelation (Rev. 19:2, et al), the “Great Whores” as they give their bodies and “love” only to those guys who can pull in top dollar salaries or who have massive bank accounts. The fashion economy will be thrown down once the beasts who supply the whores are no longer there to be sugar-daddies and who have let the whores ride them to ruin. But all this comes from a lack of faithfulness to Jesus, God the Father, and Scripture and a general “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” which many men are guilty of and which is the unforgivable sin. If you’ve attacked Jesus by claiming that His Spirit-inspired works are evil and of the devil, you are guilty of the unforgivable sin. So now we must realize that God’s wrath is coming but most importantly that Jesus will be here before you know it. You “winners” in Houston should get ready and take care of any personal business, and that goes for men throughout this planet. Imagine how God feels about the arrogance and evil of the corrupt governments throughout the world, the environmental devastation, the heating and disruption of the atmosphere and the melting polar ice caps, How about all the murders at the hands of mostly men. What percentage of murders and criminals are women? 1%? Probably less as men often judge wrongly and put innocent women who try to repent in jail. For those who don’t believe me or who do not believe in a transcendent and judging God, be warned, for God’s wrath is coming. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36 God knows your heart and everything you’ve said or done. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” The “flesh” represents men’s ego. May the True Church learn to forgive and love one another and to pray for and have mercy on the beastly men who will be cast down to the Lake of Fire. If the reader doesn’t believe me, just wait a while. I will keep telling the truth until people begin to listen to me. Signed, Stephen M. Theriault