#playing uc engage

[hotvampireadjacent]

Lala sune. You mean the teenage girl, char? The teenage girl you kissed when you were 20 something years old?

I'm just downloading UC Engage now and.... It sure is a choice to include the ending of CCA in the tutorial... But more than that to include "Lala Sune was a woman who could have been a mother to me" Line

[bulecelup]

MATAMUUUUUUU

[floyds-favorite-shrimp]

If Looks Could Kill

Deuce Spade x Fem!Yuu

Word Count: 1503

A lil spicy. Jealous/Rough Deuce!

More under cut!

“Shrimpy!” Floyd yelled, his sharp teeth on full display as he grinned. He threw his arm over Yuu’s shoulder, pulling her to him. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t try to pull away. Yuu had been on her way to Deuce and Ace, who were sitting together on the other side of the courtyard. Floyd intercepted her on her way. 

“Hello Floyd.” Yuu said, a small smile played on her lips as she politely engaged Floyd in conversation. His teal hair fell into his face as he stared down at her. “What’s up?”

“Skipping out on work, of course!” He exclaimed happily. “Hey, keep me entertained?” He hooked his fingers under her chin, forcing her attention onto him. 

“I think most people ask ‘keep me company?’” Yuu said, raising her eyebrow at him. His grin widened. 

“Ok, keep me company?” He asked her. She sighed.

Meanwhile, Deuce sat with Ace on a red, wooden bench. His hands were curled into fists, his nails digging into his palm as he looked on at Floyd and Yuu. His fingers were under her chin, and she wasn’t pulling away. Why wasn’t she pulling away?

“-uce?”

What could they be talking about?

“-euce?”

What could he possibly want with her? Deuce had watched their entire interaction. Yuu had started on her way towards them, only to be stopped by Floyd’s arm around her shoulder. Deuce wasn’t sure if he had ever gone from elated to upset so quickly before. Didn’t Floyd know that she was dating Deuce? Didn’t he know that Deuce wouldn’t give her up for anything? Not even to some tall, handsome, bad-boy like Floyd. And why was it suddenly bothering Deuce that he was an eel? Surely that should make him less attractive to Yuu?

“Deuce!” 

Deuce was finally brought back to  reality when Ace smacked him upside the head. He unclenched his fists, not realizing how tense he had been.

“Yeah- huh-wha?” Deuce sputtered out, turning his bright eyes to his ginger friend. 

“Bro, if looks could kill…” Ace trailed off, looking between Deuce and the pair across the yard. “Tell me you’re jealous without telling me you’re jealous.”

“I- I’m not jealous!” Deuce said, knowing it was quite possibly the biggest lie he had ever told. “Why would I be jealous?” He asked, slumping back against the bench and crossing his arms over his chest. He refused to look at Ace, but the frown on his face told Ace everything he needed to know. Ace smirked to himself, an idea popping into his mind so genius he was surprised a lightbulb didn’t form in midair above him. 

Yuu would have to thank him later.

“I don’t know if I could watch that, if I were her boyfriend.” Ace said, nodding his head in the general direction of the other two. “I mean, even I think he’s pretty hot. And I’m not really attracted to dudes.” 

“Wait-wha- I-I’m h-hot!” Deuce stuttered out, his eyes wide as he stared at Ace in disbelief. Ace had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

“I mean sure.” Ace said, keeping his face so straight he momentarily considered a career in acting. “But you’re, what, like six-seven- inches shorter than him? And not nearly as chaotic.”

“Chaotic?” Deuce questioned, feeling a lump form in his throat.

“Well, yeah.” Ace continued. “That’s kind of the hot new thing, isn’t it? Girls are always attracted to the chaotic red-flags.” 

“Red flags?” Deuce asked again, his gaze distant as he looked onward, but focused on nothing.

“And you’re pretty much a walking green flag. Which is great, but not really as, uh, alluring.” Ace continued, his scarlet eyes screaming in amusement.

There was a moment of silence as Deuce’s brain slowly caught up to everything Ace had said. Chaotic? Red flag? Alluring? Deuce could do that. Deuce has done that. Where was his hair bleach!

He sprung up off of the bench, his bright eyes focused on one thing. On one person. 

“What are you-” Ace started to say, but he was cut off as Deuce took off. His long legs carried him quickly across the grass to Yuu. Ace watched him, shaking his head slightly.

“He’s too easy.”

“Excuse me.” Came a deep voice in Yuu’s ear. She jumped slightly, immediately recognizing it without having to look. She felt his hand grip her wrist, and Floyd dropped his finger from her chin. Yuu glanced back, surprised to see his eyes dark with anger.

She had never seen him angry like this.

“Uh, Deuce?” She asked, but instead of answering her he pulled on her arm and she stumbled towards him. His cyan eyes were locked with Floyd’s heterochromatic gaze. She could sense some kind of unspoken argument between them, and finally Floyd relented.

“This is no good.” He hugged. Alright, Shrimpy.” He said, his smile having turned into a frown. “I’ll see ya later.” He turned on his heel before walking off. Yuu watched him leave for just a moment before turning her questioning stare to Deuce. He glanced at her from the corner of  his eye, but as she opened her mouth to speak, he began to walk, pulling her by her wrist. The gesture was both rough, and exceedingly gentle. Yuu knew he would never hurt her, but that didn’t stop her from being exceptionally confused. 

They marched on in silence, Yuu always a step behind Deuce as he led her away from campus, and toward Ramshackle dorm. Yuu’s confusion only grew as he pulled her up the front steps and into the entryway.

“Grim?” Was all Deuce asked, not looking back at her as he asked. She stared at his broad shoulders as she answered nervously.

“Uh, getting food.” 

There was no way Deuce, her Deuce, would ever so much as raise his voice at her. So why was she so afraid that he was mad? She didn’t feel the need to swat Floyd away simply because she knew that Floyd didn’t have the emotional ability to get a crush. Did Deuce see things differently? Was he really that upset?

Deuce finally turned around to look at her. Their gazes met for a moment, but it felt like an eternity. His eyes were dark, but his signature gentleness remained. Yuu opened her mouth to speak, but before any words came out, Deuce had his hands wrapped around her upper arms, and her back pressed against the door. A small grunt of surprise left her, but that’s the only noise that could escape before her lips were captured in a rough kiss. 

Her thoughts scattered. Deuce moved his soft lips against hers even though it took her a moment to respond. This was definitely not what she was expecting. His grip moved from her arms to her hips, pulling her against him. Her arms looped his neck as Deuce nibbled on her bottom lip, causing her to gasp slightly, but it was just enough for him to slip his warm tongue between her lips. He massaged her tongue with his, and she felt her knees start to shake. She held onto him even tighter. 

He pulled away from her, but only to move his lips along her jaw and down her neck. Yuu tangled her fingers in his hair, tilting her head back to give him better access. She felt a sharp pain as he lightly bit down on her sensitive skin. His hands found their way under the hem of her shirt, his warm fingers gripping her hips. Her knees buckled as he continued to nip and suck on her neck. His hands moved to the back of her thighs, using the wall at her back to help lift her up and wrap her legs around his waist.

His lips moved to her collarbone, and across the top of her chest. When did he unbutton her shirt? How did she not notice?

“Deuce-what-” But he cut her off by slamming his lips back onto hers. She did not have the mental fortitude to make him stop. He had never touched her quite like this before. And as much as she loved his genuine kindness, she had to admit that she didn’t mind this side of him either. Maybe she could enjoy it, just for now…

The next day, Yuu had to wear a scarf with her school uniform. Her and Deuce were walking to class, hand-in-hand. Yuu was still dazed from the previous night (and the morning). She knew she would have to ask him about his shift in personality at some point, but the way he walked with his head high and her hand gripped tightly in his was enough to cause her to put it off for a little bit longer.

And then she caught a glimpse of Ace, with a wide smirk on his face as Deuce led her to their first class. She held his gaze, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

Ace, what the fuck did you do?

[joesheistyy]

Injured

thank you anon for this request! I think its so cute <3

----

For the past four days, you were in Cape Cod with your family. Joe unfortunately couldn't go because of football. This was a yearly trip for your family and it just didn't work with Joe's schedule this year. You were glad your requests off got approved from the hospital so you could have some family time.

You missed him dearly and the rest of your family wished he was there as well. Joe would always throw a football with your brother, play board games with your sister, and help your parents cook and clean.

You and Joe would text when you could. He loved to catch you up on his football practices and his activities when you weren't around. He mainly spent time at home alone, but what you didn't know was that he was shopping for an engagement ring for you while you were gone.

Your vacation continued and you enjoyed time with your family. Joe would FaceTime in occasionally when he wasn't busy or exhausted. Your family adored him.

As the week progressed, Joe continued with his practices and you continued to relax with your family. That is until you got a call you never wanted or expected.

"Hey y/n, it's Zac," your jaw dropped a little bit, knowing this couldn't be good.

"Hey Zac, what's going on?" you questioned.

"Well I've got some rough news. Joe suffered what we think is a tear in his rotator cuff and he's being taken to an orthopedic doctor. He doesn't have his phone on him so he wanted me to call you," Zac said through his end of the phone.

"Oh my god. Okay, will you let him know that I am gonna catch the next flight?" you panicked a little.

"Sure thing, he'll be happy to have you and your nurse-ly opinion. He's being taken to UC because he said you work with the best orthopedic doctor," Zac said, trying not to alarm you.

"Okay fantastic. Dr. Shran is who I work with, he's the best in the business. I'll page the hospital and tell them what's going on and make sure they take good care of him," you spoke before saying your goodbyes and thank yous to Zac for calling you.

Before beginning to pack up, you paged the hospital where you worked and let them know that Joe would be coming in. Dr. Shran was on board with what the most likely case was and he was instructed by you to take the best possible care of him.

You packed up your things that were scattered all over your vacation room, making sure to do a sweep of the room before leaving. You informed your family of what happened and they encouraged you to hurry to get home. Your dad offered to drive you to the airport and while in the passenger seat, you searched for the cheapest flight. You knew Joe would want you flying in first class and he would pay for the flight, but that is not what you cared about. You cared about getting home to Joe as quick as possible.

When pulling up to the airport, you said your goodbyes to your dad and unloaded your luggage as quick as you could. You successfully found a flight that left within the next hour and a half which gave you the perfect amount of time to do your TSA pre-check and get in the air.

The flight felt like the longest amount of time ever. You just wanted to get home to your injured quarterback.

Zac kept you updated as much as he could. You even paid for wifi on the plane to try to be in the know.

Upon your return to Cincinnati, you had an Uber take you started to UC. Nervous to see how bad this potential tear could be, you tried to calm yourself and remember that things like this happen and they’re almost routine to deal with in your life as a nurse. The Uber pulled up to the main entrance of the hospital, which was the opposite side of where you needed to be. You thanked your driver and gathered your belongings to head to go see Joe.

You held a brisk pace through the hospital hallways, feeling like the tiles grew longer and longer with each step. Within a few minutes, you were in the orthopedic section of the hospital. You found the board with the patient’s names and saw what room Joe had been assigned to. 37C was the number. You turned quickly from the board and down another hallway. As you approached the door, you heard some small talk coming from the room. Knocking, you went in to see your injured quarterback.

Zac was with Joe while he was waiting to be discharged, keeping him company until you arrived. Joe’s face lit up upon your entrance, ecstatic to see his smart orthopedic nurse girlfriend. Zac was happy to see you as well. He felt obligated to stay with Joe until you got back, which of course he didn’t mind, but he was ready to be home with his own family.

“Thanks Zac for keeping me filled in, you have no idea how much it helped ease me,” you said, leaning in to give Zac a side hug before he headed out.

After the door closed behind Zac, you approached the right side Joe’s bed. He expected that you would want to get your hands on his arm to see what was going on. Even though he saw your favorite doctor, he knew you wouldn’t be totally convinced unless you sussed it out yourself.

“Ow babe that hurts,” Joe whined as you slowly lifted up his right arm to check on it’s mobility.

“I’m sorry Joey, I know. I just wanna see for myself,” you said as you kept feeling around Joe’s shoulder and arm.

“I’m gonna go talk to Dr. Shran and let him know I’m gonna need the next few months off. I’m not letting you out of my sight, Burrow,” you pointed toward him as you walked out the door, heading to Dr. Shran’s office.

Your discussion with Dr. Shran was kind and from the heart, and he agreed to let you take as much time off as you needed. It helped that you were always one of his favorite employees. And, it also helped that your boyfriend was the starting quarterback of the Bengals football team.

As you arrived back at Joe’s room, you saw a nice sling waiting for him. While his injury wasn’t as bad as the other rotator cuff injuries you’ve seen, it was still super important to make sure he didn’t push his limits.

“Here babe, let’s get this thing on you so we can head out,” you said as you grabbed the sling, assisting Joe’s sore and painful arm into the device.

“So how bad is it? Did you get to talk to Dr. Shran?” Joe questioned.

“I did and I’ll be taking a lot of time off within the near future,” you said as you helped him get his shoes on to depart the hospital. Luckily, Zac had snagged Joe’s football bag before meeting him at the hospital, so Joe’s keys were in the bag. Zac was kind enough to drive Joe’s car over to the hospital parking garage.

After signing the discharge papers, you and Joe took what seemed to be a rather long walk to the car. He had a hard time letting you carry his bag, insisting on carrying it on his not hurt arm. You strongly disagreed, knowing you had to be harsh with him because of the nature of the injury. The same thing happened when he said he wanted to drive home.

“Absolutely not, Joe. You’re gonna be the passenger princess for once. There is no way in hell I will let you behind a steering wheel right now,” you scolded him as you found the car in the parking garage. You assisted him in the car, "oh how the turns table," Joe joked as you closed his door.

Upon your arrival home, you grabbed Joe's bag out of the back seat and led him inside. He continued to mope around the house at the fact that he can't do his favorite things for a while. Football, video games, you...

Joe finally sat down after pacing around the house for a little bit. You could tell he was frustrated. The good thing was that it was very early in the off season, only a few weeks after the super bowl.

"Y/nnnn," Joe whined from the couch while you were in the kitchen preparing a snack. You left the kitchen to tend to Joe.

"Yes Joey?" you questioned as you walked toward the living room.

"I'm bored. Can you entertain me?" He begged.

"Listen here, Burrow. We're gonna set some ground rules, okay?" you said, looking deeply into his eyes then sitting down next to him.

You grabbed his left hand, the arm that wasn't injured. "While I am taking time off to take care of you, that doesn't mean I'm gonna wait on you hand and foot, got it?" you looked at him as he nodded his head, "I'm always happy to take care of you, but I need you to be willing to communicate with me and let me know how your pain levels are and such. You can still do a handful of things yourself, you're not completely bed-bound. You know I love you and will do anything in my power to help you heal, but I just need you to cooperate with me," you said, leaving a kiss on Joe's head while trying to get up. He grabbed at your arm, pulling you back into the couch.

"Y/n, can you do anything about the pain? The meds are starting to wear off and being loopy is also kinda fun," Joe joked with you. Luckily, since you knew Joe so well, you could still give him pain meds even though he had joked about liking to be loopy.

"Sure baby, let me go get you the snack I was working on. I don't want you to take them on an empty stomach," you said, getting up from the couch to go grab the snack and bottle of water.

You brought back the goods and you and Joe began to snack while watching Spongebob, his comfort show. After he had eaten enough, he gulped down the pain meds you brought him. Out of precaution, you figured it was best to take Joe up to bed. It was late already and sometimes pain meds can make people sleepy.

With Joe being high maintenance, you figured you'd have to help him get ready for bed. After going through all of his nighttime routine, you were able to tuck him into bed. Joe took quickly to the pain meds and began to act a little silly, as he would say.

"Will you lay with me? I've missed you so much," Joe pleaded, missing your smell.

"Of course babe, let me put on some pjs and turn off the lights downstairs and then I'll get in bed," you said after pulling the blanket over his legs. You made your way downstairs, making sure the doors were locked, the lights were turned off, and everything was safe and sound for the night. You headed back up the stairs and grabbed your favorite pjs, heading to the bathroom to brush your teeth and do your own nighttime routine.

The lights were all turned out, but the soft glow of Spongebob on the TV was what was left to illuminate the room. Climbing in bed, you kissed Joe's forehead and cuddled into the blankets. Joe, still slightly awake, did what he could to pull you closer. You were still laying partially sat up, and Joe rested his head on your chest.

"Thank you in advance for taking care of me and taking time off work. I promise I'll make it up to you,"

“Don’t even worry about it Burrow, it’s kinda my job,” you soothed him, patting down his hair.

“I’m gonna marry you some day, y/n,” Joe slurred out, your cheeks grew hot, your heart fluttering at his loopy words.

“Well, then I can’t wait for that day. But for now, get some rest sleepy head,” you kissed the top of his head and made sure he fell asleep okay. Thoughts of engagement and marriage danced in your head, imagining the day your life would be officially complete.

[whatdoeseverybodywant]

LOVE - Chapter 4

After getting back together, Janelle finds out thats she's pregnant. Follow along with Josh and Janelle as they deal with the highs and lows of her pregnancy.

I do NOT give permission for my work to be translated or reposted on here or any other site, even if you give me credit. DO NOT REPOST MY FICS

Reblogs, comments, likes, and feedback ALWAYS appreciated ❤ 

Janelle is played by Justine Skye

Hopefully this is only 2 chapters but you know me lol it might be more.

Sequel to All I Need Is You: Read Here

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

TAGLIST: @christinabae @southerngirl41 @reci24 @jeyusos-girl @jeyusosgirl @melaninsugababy @baconeggndcheez @bemybabiibish @jstarr86 @nbanenefrmdao @purplehairgawdess @arination99 @alyyaanna @m3llowww @gomussy @jeysbae @hennyyybarb @babysyhsy @bebesobrielo

Janelle was now 8 months pregnant and she was loving every single minute of her pregnancy. Her dad was done with rehab and had moved into one of their guest rooms. Janelle was literally on cloud 9 and nothing could bring her down. 

 “It’s Josh’s mom's birthday. Do you want to come with us?’ Janelle asked her dad as she, Josh and Xavier were about to head out the door to Josh’s mom's house for her birthday party. 

“No, it’s okay. I don’t want to intrude.”  Josh sucked his teeth and passed her dad his shoes. 

“Come uce. You family.” Janelle’s dad smiled at Josh and followed them to the car. 

“You sure your mom won’t mind me being there?” 

“I’m sure, now come on”

Janelle had just walked out of the bathroom when she bumped into someone. “Shit sorry.” He said as he grabbed her arms to steady her

“It’s okay.” She said as she tried to walk around him but he grabbed her arm to stop her. 

 “Damn you are beautiful”  Janelle smiled  awkwardly and thanked the man. She had never seen him at any of the family functions before. She tried to walk away again  but he moved in the same direction she was trying to walk, blocking her. “What’s your name?” He asked and she narrowed her eyes a bit. Either he didn’t see that she was pregnant and wearing this big ass engagement ring or he just didn't care.  “Damn you scared to talk or somethin’?”  She tried to walk around him again but he gripped her arm.

“Ow, what the fuck.” She said, trying to snatch her arm away from him. 

“Yo!” Josh yelled and stepped in between Janelle and the mystery man. “The fuck is you doin’ here?!” 

“Ohh, this the new baby mama.” He said looking Janelle up and down, his gaze lingering on her breast. 

“What.are.you.doin.here” Josh repeated, pushing Janell behind him. 

“I’m here to see my nephew and I have a message from my sister.”  He said pulling a folded up envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to Josh. Janelle was even more confused now.  “I’ll be seeing yall” He said, giving Janelle one more lingering gaze before turning on his heels and walking away. 

Josh waited until the man was out of sight before turning to Janelle. “You alright?” He asked checking her wrist and arm for bruises.

“I’m fine. Who was that?” She asked, watching as he pulled out his phone to send a text. 

“Ximena’s brother.” He muttered, clenching his jaw. 

“Xavi’s mom?!” Janelle said with wide eyes. “What the letter say?” Josh handed her the letter. 

“I don’t even care.” He stressed.  Janelle opened the letter and her mouth hung open in shock. Ximena was taking Josh to court in order to get Xavier back in her care.  When she handed the letter over to Josh he bawled it up and threw it in the trash can in the bathroom. She was not taking his son away from him. 

When Janelle and Josh returned to the party Trinity and Maya ran over to them. 

“Are you okay?” Trinity asked the both of them. “Jon and Sefa just threw his ass out. How’d he even get in here?” 

“I’m fine.” Janelle said as she looked over at Josh who was looking around the party. 

“Anybody seen X?” Josh said. 

“Yeah, your mom has him inside. He’s fine.” Josh nodded and looked over at his brothers when they walked over to the group. 

“He said nobody invited him. Said he didn’t know it was a party and was just dropping off the envelope.” Jon said and Josh started to rub his temples. He didn’t feel like dealing with Ximena and her families bullshit. 

Josh stayed on alert for the rest of the night. He made sure to keep Xavier close to him. Ximena and her family were shady ass people. 

“Dad. I just wanna play with Jay.” Xavier pouted up at Josh. Josh went to tell him ‘no’ but Janelle stood up and grabbed Xavier's hand. 

“It’s fine. I’ll go over there with him.”  Josh tried to stop her but she just shook her head and walked Xavier over to the bouncy house. 

“You gotta relax Josh. She ain’t gon come here and  kidnap him.” Jon said, passing his brother a beer.  “And like you said earlier. She doesn’t know where y’all live at now. So everything is gonna be fine.” Josh didn’t say anything. He just sipped his beer and watched Janelle and Xavier. He knew that Ximena and her family were about to become a huge pain in the ass. 

“He’s gonna sleep in here with us?” Janelle asked as Josh was carrying a sleeping Xavier into their bedroom. Josh nodded and laid Xavier down next to Janelle. “Josh, it’s gonna be okay.”  Josh sighed. 

“Is it though? That’s his mom. You know how the court system is.” Janelle didn’t say anything because she knew he was right. Her mom had done the same thing and living with her mom was hell. She didn’t want the same for Xavi. 

“So what are we gonna do?”  Josh shrugged. 

“I don’t know Nelle.” He laid down and pressed a kiss to Xavi’s head and her belly. “But I’m gonna keep the three of you safe. No matter what.” 

Janelle woke up the next morning to an empty bed. She already had a bad feeling about today and she just wanted to stay in bed all day. 

Xavier smiled over at her when she entered the living room. “Morning mommy.” 

“Morning Xavi, where’s daddy?” He pointed towards the backyard. Josh was getting done with a phone call when Janelle walked outside. 

“Thanks Paul, I'll see you next week.”  Josh hung up the phone and walked over to Janelle, sitting down on the lounger with her. 

“Everything okay?” Josh nodded 

“Yeah, I talked to Paul. He’s letting me take the week off.”  He sighed,  “I’m going downtown tomorrow to talk to my lawyer to see what I can do.” 

“Do you want me to come?”  

“Nah. You 8 months pregnant. I need you to just stay here and relax.”  

“J, come here.” She said as she scooted over so that he could lay next to her. “I know you’re scared and I don’t know what you and Ximena have been through but I’m here for you, you're not doing this alone." She felt her heartbreak as some tears slid down his cheeks. 

“I don’t know what I would do If I lose him, Nelle.”  She reached over and wiped away his tears. 

“She just left him on my momma's porch. Didn’t say nothing to nobody. Now four years later she wants him back. I won’t let that happen.” 

Thank you for reading ❤️

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved at our archive

This is the scientific version of letting nazis come hold conferences.

By Michael Hiltzik

On Oct. 4, Stanford University’s newly minted president, Jonathan Levin, opened an on-campus conference about pandemic policies by expressing the hope that the proceedings would “bring together people with different perspectives, engage in a day of discussion, and in that way, try to repair some of the rifts that opened during COVID.”

He was followed to the lectern by the conference organizer, Stanford public policy professor Jay Bhattacharya, who described the event’s goal as fostering “dialogue with one another rather than having a situation where the goal is to destroy people who disagree with you.”

He said he hoped that the conference would be a “model” for how to bring together people of divergent views.

If only it were. Within minutes of their opening remarks, their hopes were exploded.

That happened during the conference’s opening panel, which was labeled “Evidence-Based Decision Making During a Pandemic.”

Turning the conversation to the issue of COVID’s origins, panelist Andrew Noymer, who teaches about population health and disease prevention at UC Irvine, launched into a fact-free attack on Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Fauci has become a target of relentless smears by right-wingers and congressional Republicans.

“I believe,” Noymer said, “that the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are that it’s ... an experimental virus that escaped from a lab and Tony Fauci is intimately linked to the funding for experiments that created this virus.”

There’s no evidence that the virus escaped from a lab, much less that Fauci as NIAID director funded any experiments that created the virus. No one on the panel called Noymer to account.

A few other low points during the day reflected the organizers’ having invited conspiracy-mongers and purveyors of long-debunked claims to share the stage with public health and science professionals who have spent the last few years battling a tide of misinformation and disinformation about the pandemic.

Stanford posted videos of all the conference panels and speeches on its website and on YouTube on Friday, expanding the potential audience beyond the few hundred people who attended the event in person.

As I mentioned in an earlier column about the conference, the idea that universities such as Stanford should be arenas for airing all opinions in a search for truth is simplistic and historically incorrect. Universities have always had, and even embraced, the duty to draw the line between fact and fiction — to determine when an assertion or opinion falls below the line of intellectual acceptability.

“Science and quackery cannot be treated as having scientific and moral equivalence,” John P. Moore, a distinguished biologist and epidemiologist at Weill Cornell Medical College who played a part in debunking misinformation about the role of HIV in AIDS during the 1990s, wrote recently. “Do NASA scientists attend conferences by people who believe the moon-landing was faked? Do geographers and geologists attend conferences held by idiots who believe the earth is flat? Of course not.”

Stanford did some things right. After the initial conference agenda was published in August, it was criticized on social media and in the science community (and by me) for mainstreaming an “anti-science agenda (and revisionist history),” in the words of vaccine expert and pseudoscience debunker Peter Hotez.

Several more participants were added to the final roster in a possible effort to balance the lineup. (It may be that the organizers approached some of them before the original announcement came under attack.)

This effort bore fruit. In the first session, for example, health policy experts Douglas K. Owens and Josh Salomon of Stanford’s medical school educated their fellow panelists in the realities of crafting social policies in the first months of a deadly pandemic with little-understood medical characteristics or health implications.

Yet a persistent subtext of the conference was that the social interventions taken against the pandemic, such as business and school closings, mask and social distancing advisories and lockdowns, were generally worse than the disease. This echoed the position of Bhattacharya, a co-author of the Great Barrington Declaration, a manifesto published in October 2020 that called for ending lockdowns and school closures and pursuing “herd immunity” through “natural infection” of almost everyone other than the aged and infirm.

During the opening panel, moderator Wilk Wilkinson, a blogger on the concept of “personal accountability,” offered the astonishing criticism that public health leaders “focused very narrowly on deaths from COVID, and often it came at the expense of other social values” such as “being able to visit people, ... or putting children in school as they normally would go to school, or attend funerals.”

It fell to Salomon to observe tactfully that “in the early part of the pandemic, in March 2020, “it made sense to focus on mortality. We all saw ... the stacks of body bags in New York City.” Over time, he said, social trade-offs from public health interventions can be weighed, as they are today. But if there’s a higher imperative for public health officials than reducing deaths from a deadly pandemic while it is in full cry, what is it?

As it happens, researchers have found that social interventions did succeed in reducing infections and mortality, a conclusion that was barely mentioned at the conference.

COVID death rates in U.S. states were reduced by restaurant, gym and pool shutdowns, vaccine mandates for school and government workers, and stay-at-home orders, according to a massive study published by the British medical journal The Lancet in April 2023. Infection rates were reduced by bar, restaurant and primary school closures; mask mandates; restrictions on large gatherings; stay-at-home orders; and vaccine mandates.

Social policies in place during the pandemic are easy to denigrate because their costs were evident but their positive effects were often invisible, Salomon observed. “It’s harder for us to recognize the lives that were saved, the hospital systems that were not overwhelmed, the ... illnesses that were avoided.”

Throughout the conference, anti-government paranoia and misinformation about pandemic policies were strong on the wing. Rutgers biologist Bryce Nickels — who has accused scientists of “fraud” for concluding in a 2020 paper that COVID most likely originated in the natural spillover of the virus from animals via the wildlife trade in China, not through a laboratory experiment gone awry — expressed the conviction during the panel on the origins of COVID that “the pandemic was caused by reckless research and a lab accident.”

Nickels insinuated that the scientists behind such research “have blood on their hands or culpability in some level.”

I asked Bhattacharya if comments such as Nickels’ and Noymer’s comported with his desire to eradicate from the debate over COVID “the goal ... to destroy people who disagree with you.” He hasn’t replied.

Levin told me by email that “revisiting pandemic policies, with the benefit of hindsight and data, is a valuable topic for study,” and that he thinks “we’ll learn more from that inquiry if we frame it around questions and evidence rather than ‘who was right.’”

Some presenters uttered evident misinformation. Consider Scott Atlas, a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution and a former COVID advisor to the Trump administration, who attacked pandemic lockdowns and their advocates because lockdowns “failed to stop the dying, they failed to stop the spread — that’s the data.”

But this is a flagrant category error. No one argued that the lockdowns would stop the spread of COVID or “stop the dying.” They were consistently portrayed as policies to slow the spread and consequently mortality in order to relieve the crushing pressure on healthcare facilities and personnel long enough to enable them to get a handle on the pandemic — “flattening the curve” was the watchword. And over time, they succeeded in doing just that.

Then there’s Marty Makary, a prominent surgeon at Johns Hopkins University who made a name for himself during the pandemic by repeatedly predicting that the pandemic was on the verge of ending due to natural immunity, and was consistently confounded by the appearance of successive new waves of deadly COVID variants.

Makary related during the opening panel that he was frustrated because once data arrived about the social effects of lockdowns “there was no interest in evaluating” what was “the largest public health intervention in modern history.”

But that’s just wrong. Data-driven analyses of social interventions surfaced even in the earliest days of the pandemic — including a multidiscipinary symposium sponsored by Stanford in the fall of 2021, featuring 54 experts from academia, public health and government.

Up to this day, the medical, public health and social effects of the pandemic and pandemic policies have been the subject of unrelenting study — more than 700,000 papers by nearly 2 million researchers thus far, according to an estimate offered by Stanford epidemiologist John P.A. Ionannidis in his closing conference remarks.

The conference organizers wanted to congratulate themselves for producing what Bhattacharya described as “the first event where people of very different viewpoints about what happened during the pandemic are going to speak to each other in a way that’s constructive.”

But a conference in which conspiratorial delusions and outright falsehoods were treated as deserving the same respect as scientifically validated research, and in which the authors of serious virological and epidemiological studies, as well as respected public health authorities, were subjected to smears, was nothing like “constructive.”

Considering Bhattacharya’s expectation that this conference should be a model for others, then: Let’s hope not.

[onlyforchenford]

Thoughts on Chenford S6 – E1/2

Happy to see Lucy/Tim made up and got a dance, kiss and ILYs! But we knew they would 😉

I liked the way it played out with Lucy not apologizing because Lucy didn’t have anything to apologize for. What we have seen play out is that Tim has always been really good at calming Lucy down when she spiraled (S1, the needle) or was worried about something (S1, the checklist). In fact, those are some of their best scenes. By contrast, in the S6 premiere, Tim seems taken aback by Lucy’s spiral and doesn’t quite do a good job in dealing with it. By the end, Lucy is asking him whether he subconsciously undermined her which he denies. By E2, during the lie detector test, we see that he is actually conflicted about this but wasn’t aware of it. Tim thought he was being supportive but really wasn't because as Lucy said, he sub-consciously didn’t want Lucy to become detective because that would mean more UC work which he doesn’t like for her (neither do I, that's a different post). I thought it was really sweet that he didn’t want to let that affect her though.

Let me also clarify that I don’t think the fight in the premiere was particularly well written. There were lots better ways to unravel their conflict around UC and in fact, an honest and direct conversation about it would have been great.

Anyhow, just my thoughts on this…I understand people see it differently!

If you choose to engage, please be respectful.

[theflyindutchwoman]

How do you think the writers will take Chenford moving forward? I know exploring long-term UC for Lucy and how that will impact Chenford's relationship is a possibility, but what do you think about other things like proposal, marriage and kids? Especially kids, since that is something Tim and Lucy have talked about numerous times.

I have this thought that pregnancy storyline was always written mainly due to logistics instead of what the writers wanted in originally. This mainly stems from the fact that the few times they have pregnancy in the show were because the actresses that played Angela Lopez and Nyla Harper were pregnant themselves and thus pregnancy was written in the storyline, so it kinda makes me think Tim and Lucy having kids may not be something we will see in the series. What do you think?

Ooh speculation time… This might be an unpopular opinion, but I agree, I don't see Lucy and Tim having a baby in the near future, at least not if the writers have a say in it.

As you mentioned, these storylines have been written to accommodate the actresses' real life pregnancies (not sure for Angela's second baby). They didn't get to properly prepare in advance, hence the three unplanned pregnancies plotlines. And I think that's partially the reason why Tim and Lucy have been speaking about kids so much : the writers want to do with them what they didn't get to do with the other couples. We didn't see the conversation, the planning… None of that. They have this opportunity here. Even better, Lucy and Tim had both already their own arc about this topic : her with the fertility clinic and him with having his dream of being a father being dashed repeatedly. And it's something they've discussed together in the past, so it makes sense that they would bring it up from time to time. But I don't think that means they are planning babies just yet. Ideally, Lucy would first get settled in her career - same with Tim for that matter. Otherwise, it would simply be a repeat of Angela's struggles when she got pregnant just as she was becoming a detective. I also wonder whether they're going to reopen the fertility clinic arc or not… In the meantime, having them coach Little League or spend a day with their Make-A-Dream kid is actually a smart way to give us some insights on what kind of parents they could be, without having to introduce a child just quite yet. We may get to see them as parents one day, I'm not ruling it out completely, but it will depend on how many more seasons we get.

If I had to venture a guess, I'd say that the first order of business would be to resolve the undercover/promotion storyline for Lucy. The writers have been teasing this arc all season long, so it's time to move forward. I don't mean that Lucy necessarily has to take a final decision regarding undercover, just that she needs to get to the next stage of her career. Undercover aside, Tim already mentioned that their scheduling hours could present an issue once she makes detective, that they might spend less time together. So it would be interesting to delve a little into that, see how they make it work… which could, in turn, lead to a conversation about moving in together and/or buying a house. After all, that's the discussion that set the wheels in motion and brought Tim and Lucy together. So that could be a full-circle moment. And it could pave the way for the next step : proposal.

Now, I don't think we will see one next season : with S6 shortened, it might be tricky. I know it might also seem too soon, but these two are already serious and committed, they know what they want and they know the other very well. Besides, so far, all the main couples got engaged relatively fast : Wesley proposed to Angela after 6-9 months of dating, Nyla and James got married after a few months (though in all fairness, it was precipitated by the pregnancy) and Nolan was ready to ask Bailey after dating her for like 8 episodes?! There's clearly a pattern here. But again, with a shorter season and a wedding already planned, the writers might want to keep that for later… All in all, it will really depend on how short this season will be (we stand with WGA/SAG-AFTRA in this house) and whether they can get a renewal for s7.

[thehydromancer]

Update to the Lego Thunderbolt Full Armor Gundam. Been playing a lot of the UC Engage mobile game, which made me want to revisit one of my favorites. Totally new backpack that now includes the side mounted beam sabers + I'd guess half the parts (and hopefully weight), revamped the double beam rifles as well as the beam cannon, simplified some of the add-on armor, did some minor recoloring (the medium nougat on the shields really pops), but I still can't figure out how to add the newer articulated neck that the base Jacaranda mobile frame enjoys without losing the only viable hard points for the add-on chest armor.

[mariacallous]

Artificial intelligence was once something the average person described in the abstract. They had no tactile relationship with it that they were aware of, even if their devices were often utilizing it. That’s all changed over the past year as people have started to engage with AI programs like OpenAI’s DALL-E and ChatGPT, and the technology is rapidly advancing. 

As AI is democratized, democracy itself is falling under new pressures. There will likely be many exciting ways it will be deployed, but it may also start to distort reality and could become a major threat to the 2024 presidential election if AI-generated audio, images, and videos of candidates proliferate. The line between what’s real and what’s fake could start to blur significantly more than it already has in an age of rampant disinformation. 

“We’ve seen pretty dramatic shifts in the landscape when it comes to generative tools—particularly in the last year,” says Henry Ajder, an independent AI expert. “I think the scale of content we’re now seeing being produced is directly related to that dramatic opening up of accessibility.”

It’s not a question of whether AI-generated content is going to start playing a role in politics, because it’s already happening. AI-generated images and videos featuring president Joe Biden and Donald Trump have started spreading around the internet. Republicans recently used AI to generate an attack ad against Biden. The question is, what will happen when anyone can open their laptop and, with minimal effort, quickly create a convincing deepfake of a politician? 

There are plenty of ways to generate AI images from text, such as DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion. It’s easy to generate a clone of someone’s voice with an AI program like the one offered by ElevenLabs. Convincing deepfake videos are still difficult to produce, but Ajder says that might not be the case within a year or so.

“To create a really high-quality deepfake still requires a fair degree of expertise, as well as post-production expertise to touch up the output the AI generates,” Ajder says. “Video is really the next frontier in generative AI.”

Some deepfakes of political figures have emerged in recent years, such as one of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy telling his troops to surrender that was released last year. Once the technology has advanced more, which may not take long considering how quickly other forms of generative AI are advancing, more of these types of videos may appear as they become more convincing and easier to produce.

“I don’t think there’s a website where you can say, ‘Create me a video of Joe Biden saying X.’ That doesn’t exist, but it will,” says Hany Farid, a professor at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. “It’s just a matter of time. People are already working on text-to-video.”

That includes companies like Runway, Google, and Meta. Once one company releases a high-quality version of a text-to-video generative AI tool, we may see many others quickly release their own versions, as we did after ChatGPT was released. Farid says that nobody wants to get “left behind,” so these companies tend to just release what they have as soon as they can. 

“It consistently amazes me that in the physical world, when we release products there are really stringent guidelines,” Farid says. “You can’t release a product and hope it doesn’t kill your customer. But with software, we’re like, ‘This doesn’t really work, but let’s see what happens when we release it to billions of people.’”

If we start to see a significant number of deepfakes spreading during the election, it’s easy to imagine someone like Donald Trump sharing this kind of content on social media and claiming it’s real. A deepfake of President Biden saying something disqualifying could come out shortly before the election, and many people might never find out it was AI-generated. Research has consistently shown, after all, that fake news spreads further than real news. 

Even if deepfakes don’t become ubiquitous before the 2024 election, which is still 18 months away, the mere fact that this kind of content can be created could affect the election. Knowing that fraudulent images, audio, and video can be created relatively easily could make people distrust the legitimate material they come across.

“In some respects, deepfakes and generative AI don’t even need to be involved in the election for them to still cause disruption, because now the well has been poisoned with this idea that anything could be fake,” says Ajder. “That provides a really useful excuse if something inconvenient comes out featuring you. You can dismiss it as fake.”

So what can be done about this problem? One solution is something called C2PA. This technology cryptographically signs any content created by a device, such as a phone or video camera, and documents who captured the image, where, and when. The cryptographic signature is then held on a centralized immutable ledger. This would allow people producing legitimate videos to show that they are, in fact, legitimate.

Some other options involve what’s called fingerprinting and watermarking images and videos. Fingerprinting involves taking what are called “hashes” from content, which are essentially just strings of its data, so it can be verified as legitimate later on. Watermarking, as you might expect, involves inserting a digital watermark on images and videos.

It’s often been proposed that AI tools can be developed to spot deepfakes, but Ajder isn’t sold on that solution. He says the technology isn’t reliable enough and that it won’t be able to keep up with the constantly changing generative AI tools that are being developed.

One last possibility for solving this problem would be to develop a sort of instant fact-checker for social media users. Aviv Ovadya, a researcher at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard, says you could highlight a piece of content in an app and send it to a contextualization engine that would inform you of its veracity.

“Media literacy that evolves at the rate of advances in this technology is not easy. You need it to be almost instantaneous—where you look at something that you see online and you can get context on that thing,” Ovadya says. “What is it you’re looking at? You could have it cross-referenced with sources you can trust.”

If you see something that might be fake news, the tool could quickly inform you of its veracity. If you see an image or video that looks like it might be fake, it could check sources to see if it’s been verified. Ovadya says it could be available within apps like WhatsApp and Twitter, or could simply be its own app. The problem, he says, is that many founders he has spoken with simply don’t see a lot of money in developing such a tool. 

Whether any of these possible solutions will be adopted before the 2024 election remains to be seen, but the threat is growing, and there’s a lot of money going into developing generative AI and little going into finding ways to prevent the spread of this kind of disinformation.

“I think we’re going to see a flood of tools, as we’re already seeing, but I think [AI-generated political content] will continue,” Ajder says. “Fundamentally, we’re not in a good position to be dealing with these incredibly fast-moving, powerful technologies.”

[astrarobotica]

I've been playing a lot of MechWarrior 4/5: Mercenaries lately, and it really just makes me wish Bandai Namco would make like, an actually good, canonical Mobile Suit Gundam game.

It's really annoying that for the past decade or so, nearly all Gundam games have been PvP-focused mashup games that are basically just saying "Wouldn't it be cool if Amuro Ray could fight Domon Kasshu but also fight the guy from Gundam Seed at the same time?" Like yeah it would be cool! And honestly the Gundam Extreme Versus MaxiBoost Whatever the Fuck™ games look like the best games that have come out of the franchise recently. But then they were like "Okay what if we do that again, but rather than being a 2v2 arena fighter it's just fucking Overwatch? What if we make it so similar to Overwatch that we basically just copy the HUD almost exactly? What if we release this game TWO WEEKS before Overwatch 2 comes out?"

The thing that really bothers me about Gundam Evolution is it had a lot of potential to be a decent Just Another Hero Shooter if they had just put some thought into giving it an actual identity. The gameplay was actually pretty good, but they didn't do nearly enough to make it feel like a Gundam game. It was just Overwatch with a random assortment of mobile suits from 4-5 different universes. The fact that they went so far as to shut it down only a year after it came out is absurd. I'm not surprised that the game wasn't successful, but I'm confused at how they thought it would be, and then it was apparently so unsuccessful (meaning not enough people were buying the cosmetic shit for it to be profitable) that it wasn't even worth keeping the servers up and providing minimal support for people who did actually enjoy it.

Then there's Battle Operation 2, which feels more like what I think a Gundam game should be and is at least limited to UC content, but I just don't enjoy playing it. It's an overly-complicated free to play game that seems to reward players who play (or spend) a lot, which makes it difficult to get acclimated when you're just starting out. I haven't played it enough to feel like I can accuse it of being pay-to-win, but I've seen that argument made by other people, and it difficult not to feel that way a little bit considering how most of my matches have gone. And I'm sure a lot of that comes down to me just not playing the game enough to actually get good, but it just doesn't feel worth the frustration of trying to get there when the game seems average at best. I keep wanting to give it another chance, but I get frustrated every time I do. It certainly doesn't help that I've only been able to play on maybe three distinct maps, and specifically one of them away more than the other two.

Back to the point...

I've been playing MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries and MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries a lot over the past couple weeks. Neither of them are perfect games. They both have unique strengths and shortcomings. A lot of people would probably disagree with the things I like or dislike about them. But I think they're both a lot of fun, because they both make huge effort to make it feel like you're controlling a big bidepal machine loaded with weapons, and to make the combat engaging and satisfying.

The crazy thing about how much I enjoy these games is that I'm not even that interested in the greater BattleTech universe. I've played 20 hours or so of the turn-based video game from 2018 (although I need to go back to it because I don't really feel like I've experienced that much of it) but that's it. I know very little about the tabletop game. I've never read any of the books. I know the basic concepts in the lore and I know of the Houses and the Clans and all of that, but not much else. I know of some of the people but I don't know anyone's motives or ideals. I feel bad saying this, but I just don't care about the universe these games are set in. The plots of the games allude to much bigger events occurring in the background, but without context none of it means much to me. I don't think it's bad at all, but I think it's just not for me. It seems very dense and complicated, and I honestly think if I took the time to read some of it I would enjoy it. But I just don't have the desire to become engrossed within the world like I do with other fictional worlds. I think I'm just not that interested in the whole Feudalism, But in Space genre.

So it's just a bit of a shame that Mobile Suit Gundam games don't get that same level of treatment/production value. A game set in the UC timeline with a gameplay loop similar to MechWarrior: Mercenaries games would probably be my favorite game ever if it was actually any good. I just like good mech games. I loved Titanfall 2 even though I usually hate fast-paced multiplayer shooters. I really need to buy Armored Core 6 soon (speaking of, FromSoft made a Japan-only Gundam Unicorn game a while back, why not let them have another go?). There's so much potential to not only make good Gundam games that aren't PvP-focused, but also to make Gundam games that actually make sense canonically. Bandai Namco somehow felt confident enough to rip off Overwatch and thought that was a risk worth taking, but they don't want to make games that actually acknowledge there are stories and deep lore and a really good science fiction universe behind the big cool robots.

[isca-rambles]

5x10

hehehehe. Okay so just pure giggling this episode, right?

Look at these gorgeous idiots. I adore the trope of best friends becoming romantic partners and suddenly freaking out when they go on a date and eventually asking each other for advice, because that's what they do. God Lucy's clothes are just utterly gorgeous and so is she. Tim's not so bad himself. Tim's smile. My god these two. They're so awkward. Talking about bloody bread and sea bass. These adorable teenagers in love. Tim checking her out every five seconds because he's not blind. And good lord he's so fucking awkward. Naked time. My poor sweet boy. But he's so happy to go at whatever pace she wants. There's no disappointment, no push back. He's just happy she's comfortable enough to tell him what she's expecting from this. Okay but who leaves a knife that sharp out in the open? This restaurant needs to sort out their sharps policy. Lucy's disappointed grumpy face knowing their date is over.

Wesley good lord slow your horses there boy. God these two. How are they police officers, honestly? How have they survived going UC? They're so awkward and obvious. Just shuffled in the corner whispering away, smiling like idiots, and just pouncing on Nolan the second he walks over. Grey you sneaky SOB. You know exactly what is going on here. And god, Tim and Lucy look so sad and downcast while he's talking to them. They've not even had a chance to see what's going on between them and they think Grey's going to make them call it quits. But obviously they wouldn't. They are both so quick to jump to literally any other option other than breaking up. They're in it for the long haul. And yes...I'm pointedly ignoring S6 right now. Aww Tim's face as Aaron keeps going. Poor baby.

Nyla, our badass queen.

Fuck's sake dude. Why would you ever not listen to Nyla freaking Harper? She tells you to sit your ass down, you sit the fuck down. Gotta appreciate a man taking his pet goldfish on the run with him. But that is not a suitable way of transporting a fish, c'mon buddy. GOD DAMMIT NOT THE FISH! I mean that guy was playing with fire but the fish was innocent! Not that I'd want them to have gone over, but it seems weird they wouldn't push the shop just a bit further over the edge before leaving. Aaron, you sweet angel! Stop being so wonderful it's not making the news any easier. Aaron, our co-captain of the Chenford ship o7 please let the leaving be mutual and without negativity so he can come back for a Chenford engagement or something. I need him to see them happy together again. Among like a million other things. I just don't want him to leave :( My god the flirting. These two. You are in a building full of cops with eyes. Aaron and Celina my D&D nerds why you cuties stop it please. Wopez and Jyla are the cutest couples. Need more double dates from them. And then triple dates with Chenford. Oh my god they're sat so close. Talking about grandkids doesn't even phase them. Tim not going over the car-jacker because he's got something far more important right in front of him. His obsession with her thighs, their legs sandwiched together. How close they are. The gentle hand in her hair, the eyes, the smile, the kiss. I MELT. I CANNOT.

[into-the-spider-verse]

List of Gundam’s I’ve watched so far, least favorite to favorite (warning, may be controversial? idk)

Stardust Memory - I’m going to be honest, I watched this one but did not super follow it.  Maybe I should try again, it just didn’t feel that interesting to me for some reason.  Like it was a short series, and I didn’t get attached enough to the characters in that short time, and it is only really setting up stuff from Zeta Gundam that I already knew about so I didn’t particularly care about it. idk

ZZ Gundam - I’m currently halfway through this one, and it is growing on me, but the front half is silly in a not fun way for me.  Feels aimed at a markedly younger audience then Zeta, which maybe it was but its losing me for that.  Also the lack of a dub means I can’t really work on Gunpla/play videogames while watching which makes it less engaging for my ADHD.  I think the reuse of Zeta suits with entirely new characters feels a bit like a cheap reboot.  My understanding is that like, Char and a lot of the other cast was meant to return but because Char’s Counterattack got approval all of the characters/actors got saved for that project, so we ended up with a new cast for ZZ, but I’m just not feeling them/their stories feel like childlike rehashes of previous stuff largely. Mobile Suit Gundam - The original gundam feels like the baseline.  I enjoyed it, I know conceptually it had more going on then just a children’s show about robots fighting, but it didn’t really hook me properly.  I ended up caring about its cast more when watching other stuff with them in it then when I watched MSG.  Wasn’t bad by any means, but just the absolute neutral of mecha experiences imo. 8th MS Team - I liked it.  Felt decidedly more adult then the mainline series, wasn’t my favorite cast of characters but it was fun and interesting at the same time.

Zeta Gundam - I found it more compelling then MSG on the individual character basis, but I think its overall message stumbled in a few places and dove headfirst into misogyny in others.  Despite that and some repetitive storylines with Cybernewtypes, I found I ended up liking the cast of Zeta a whole lot, and I definitely thought the look of the suits in Zeta were an improvement over the originals.  Zeta itself was not my favorite, but the MK II, Hyaku Shiki, and many of the other suits were super cool.

Gundam The Origin - Beautifully animated, wonderfully fleshes out the characters in a way that made them much more compelling to me then MSG did on its own.

Iron Blooded Orphans - Second series I watched, before any UC stuff.  It was great, the mechs were cool, the story was compelling and at the surface scratched a lot of itches I look for in sci-fi in general, in many ways more so then any other Gundam series.  The only reason it isn’t higher up is that the other series just connected with me more in ways I didn’t expect.

War in the Pocket - Loved it, a smaller, microscopic view of war and its horrors, while also having some cool robot action.  I loved the Alex, I def want its MG.

00 Gundam - It was the first gundam series I watched, and got me back into mecha after not really watching much anime at all since highschool.  The suits are cool, the characters and story arc compelling.  I do need to do a rewatch though, as my opinion of it may be more about how cool it was after not watching anything like it in awhile and how much was its actual quality, but I do think it was pretty great.

Gundam Thunderbolt - The perfect combination of flashy animation, compelling characters, and cool suits.  Full Armor Gundam is my favorite UC suit so far. Honorable Mention: Witch from Mercury I’m not even done with whats out yet, and half of it hasn’t been released, but I’m loving it so far.  The designs are amazing, the characters compelling, but there isn’t a ton I could say about it that I haven’t said about other series already.

[uchicagoscrc]

Holding space: The Archive and Blues Tradition at the University of Chicago

Performance spaces like the Checkerboard Lounge, Theresa’s, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Club DeLisa, Pepper’s Lounge, Gerri’s Palm Tavern, and the Parkway Lounge have, historically, made the City of Chicago synonymous with the Blues. They were critical neighborhood institutions that also helped to forge local community ties and pathways for global connections. However, extant narratives of the history of Chicago Blues are absent of the part that The University of Chicago has played in that formation. So much so, in 2003, journalist Celeste Garrett wrote that the University was “known more for generating Nobel Prize winners than for being a source of the Blues.” This is true. At present, in fact, there are 97 Nobel Prize winners who are or have been associated with the University. However, what is little known about the institution, as the archive reveals, is that The University of Chicago played a small, but crucial, role in fashioning a space and place for the presence and preservation of Chicago Blues history and culture.

Perchance, the University’s manifold attractions and interests and distractions, along with its perceived distance to African American history and lifeworld’s, we tend to disassociate it with such diasporic cultural attractions and productions such as Blues. Contrary to popular belief, the University, equal to the institutions listed above, held space for the blues, its traditions, and celebrated and prepared for its thriving futurity.

In the 1940s, the campus hosted its first blue’s performance. Then, in 1952, the first major concert was produced, with performances by Chick Heston, Preston Jackson, John Henly, William “King” Colax, Ernest Crawford, and Mammy Yancy, headlined by Mahalia Jackson, and sponsored by the “Student Cultural Clubs.” On campus Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters were among the most favored performers and personalities. Howlin’ Wolf first performed at UC in 1960 and at the end of the decade an advertisement in the classifieds of the Daily Maroon read, “Who the hell wants to go to Washington when Howlin’ Wolf is playing right here on campus, tomorrow nite [sic] for only $1.50 (sure beats $25).” And, in 1962, the Salisbury House hosted a dinner for Muddy Waters, engaging him on the blues, his life story, his artistry and aesthetics and philosophy. These events seemed to cement the Blue’s in the cultural landscape of the institution that no one seemed to be aware of in spite of the festivals that grew up there, including the annual Folk Festival organized by the Folk Society, the Blues and Ribs festival that came later, and the Logan Center Bluesfest and the other concerts that were promoted by Enterprise Productions, the Alumni Association, and the Inter Fraternity Council. Though concerts were put on at Mandel Hall, other spaces around campus were (or became) places for the Blues, including Bartlett Gymnasium, Ida Noyes Hall, and, much later, the Logan Center for the Arts.

The concerts were not exclusively to student or UC associates; the invites were extended to all interested in the music. Many came to the University for those performances to be baptized and delivered in the holy sonic waters of such artists like Chester Burnett, Big Bill Broonzy, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Elvin Bishop’s Big Fun Trio, Jimmy Johnson, Eddy Clearwater, Corky Siegel, Lil’ Ed, and Melody Angel, Willie Dixon, Elizabeth Cotten, “Mississippi” John Hurt, Roscoe Holcomb, the Stanley Brothers, Paul Butterfield, Louis Killen, Koko Taylor, and Billy Branch, among many others. As with the blues performances scattered about the city, reverberating the blues houses near and far, the clientele that patronized the university concerts, came to lay down the quotidian, the stuff that invented the blues, what Houston Baker surmised as the “world of transience, instability, hard luck, brutalizing work, lost love, minimal security, and enduring human wit and resourcefulness in the face of disaster.”

What’s more, the University of Chicago offered to help preserve the culture of the blues in the city by keeping the Checkerboard Lounge open (that closed in 2003, but reopened in Hyde Park in 2005), while many of the other clubs that helped to place Chicago Blue’s on the map have closed. During the early negotiations of this transition, former UC Vice President for Community and Government Affairs, referring to these historical neighborhood institutions, most notably the Checkerboard, argued for this rescue plan saying, “It’s an important place in history in a city where it’s important to preserve it.” He was right.

The University of Chicago’s influence doesn’t end there: the institution has been acknowledged for its impact on the Nobel Prize winning blues instrumentalist Henry Threadgill, who learned avant-garde classical music attending performances of the Contemporary Chamber Players at the University of Chicago growing up. As well as Elvin Bishop, another Chicago native, of the Elvin Bishop Group, who also attended classes at the University of Chicago, who made the Southside and West Side digs his classroom as well. And there are others, not to mention, Paul Butterfield whose band, as Paul Eisenberg reported earlier this year, The Butterfield Blues Band was formed out of the many activities surrounding the blues festival that was organized at the University of Chicago. The band went on to become a major influence abroad spreading the Chicago-style blues abroad, furthering the legacy of the many blues artists who descended upon the city many years prior.

This dive here is but a brief one; perhaps the start of an archival project to investigate the overall impact that the University has had on the Blues community in Chicago, and, more specifically, the African American community throughout the Southside who favored the institution as their scene for blues performances and have recollections regarding it as a site of memory. Howard Reich noted in 2005 that “. . . Chicago blues are everywhere in this town – if you know how to listen.” It appears that the sonic resonances of the blues are everywhere in the University’s archives. By listening to the archive available at the University, then, where it intersects with the Blue’s scene across the city and, most notably, within the Black community, researchers might find other profound socially based reverberations and hidden histories of the blue’s, reflecting and fomenting other realities and pathways for understanding the past and present conditions of Chicago’s communities.

Literary scholar Steve Tracy reminds us that “. . . the blues provides ‘a structured but expansive place for the individual to relate to and express the community, and for artists to touch home base but still express themselves individually.” We are uniquely positioned to expand with deeper dives into the library’s digitized collections (including the Campus Publications and the Photographic Archives) and University Archives, to discover and institute pathways for transformative community building and public history projects.

Images Top to Bottom:

Audience enjoying a Blues concert, circa 1990s. Photograph by Adam Lisberg, Chicago Maroon. UChicago Photographic Archive apf7-03946.

Three young women enjoy barbecued ribs at the Blues and Ribs festival in the University of Chicago's Ida Noyes Hall, October 1997. Photograph by Melody Weinstein, Chicago Maroon. UChicago Photographic Archive apf7-05986-001.

Buddy Guy plays a concert with his band in Mandel Hall at the University of Chicago, January 24, 1992. Photograph by Richard Kornylak, Chicago Maroon. UChicago Photographic Archive apf7-03949-002.

[gothicprep]

ian danskin, the creator of the alt-right playbook series on youtube, clearly has his heart in the right place, but i don't think he has the intellectual chops to properly execute his subject material.

his video entitled "the cost of doing business" is unfortunately one of the worst political videos i've ever seen. he makes some very strange logical leaps, glosses over a lot in his retelling of the milo yiannopoulos/UC berkely controversy, and treats the student body as though they were 90s era clintonites (this happened in the mid-2010s) while watering down how much of an immoral failure of a person milo is in service of a point that libs and conservatives have no meaningful difference between the two of them. you're betting on the wrong horse if you're comparing the people attending a university whose culture trends towards political engagement with someone who has no shame in disclosing that he's a nazi sympathizer, if not something much worse.

you also get the impression from videos like this that it's implied that only white people engage in politics. which frankly, comes off as an infantilizing sort of racism. never in the history of the united states have marginalized populations played an active role in their legal and social gains. i've learned something new about history today.

it's also 10 months old but feels so antiquated. it'd have felt antiquated in 2017.

also as an aside, there's one shot in this where he's giving book recommendations and they're all library copies. which begs the question of whether he checked them out in his research process, or checked them out to get that specific shot. which, if it's the latter, hoo boy.

[ausetkmt]

Amid Robert Rundo’s Extradition, the White Supremacist Active Clubs Network Remains a Threat

Robert Rundo, co-founder of the white supremacist Rise Above Movement, is back in the United States, extradited to California from Romania to once again face federal rioting charges. Rundo, who left the United States for southeastern Europe after his criminal case was briefly dismissed in 2019, remained an active participant in the transnational white supremacist movement during his time abroad. Rundo’s time in Europe was characterized by his emergence as a prominent white supremacist leader, driven by his development of “white nationalism 3.0.” 

This decentralized model has resulted in the creation of localized white supremacist Active Clubs, which promote fraternity and a so-called white “warrior spirit,” while also engaging in physical training for what members perceive to be an impending race war. Rundo also established a propaganda arm, Media2Rise, and an online merchandising entity, Will2Rise, to create a white supremacist brand that could expand Active Club messaging and deepen connections between Active Clubs and other white supremacist groups like Patriot Front.

As Rundo returns to the United States to face federal charges five years after his initial arrest, the Active Club network, now the latest iteration of his white supremacist movement, represents an enduring threat and legacy that will persist long after the founder’s potential incarceration.

The Rise of the Rise Above Movement

Rundo co-founded the Rise Above Movement (RAM) in 2017, alongside fellow white supremacist Ben Daley. RAM quickly established itself in the Southern California white supremacist scene, growing from a small crew of right-wing gym enthusiasts to roughly 50 active members. Rundo’s strategic messaging in the early years of RAM played a key role in the group’s initial success, establishing the organization’s brand as the “premier MMA club of the Alt-Right.” As part of this branding, RAM focused on mixed martial arts (MMA), race-based physical fitness, and transforming keyboard warriors into real-world street fighters. Rundo and Daley’s framing allowed the organization to expand its influence beyond the borders of the United States and network with a growing white nationalist fight scene in Europe.

From its inception, RAM sought to act as the “violent vanguard” of the white supremacist movement, taking the mantle from the prominent skinhead gangs of the 1980’s and 1990’s. RAM members functioned as street fighters who wanted to commit acts of violence against those they regarded as their adversaries. They positioned themselves as white patriotic crusaders who were fighting against the perceived threat posed by “communists” or antifa and advocated on behalf of a perceived victimized white population in the United States. 

In 2017, RAM members were part of a series of violent clashes at rallies in Berkeley and Huntington Beach, California. On April 15 of that year, a fight broke out between white supremacists and anti-fascist activists at a rally near UC Berkeley, which resulted in 20 arrests and at least 11 injuries. Rundo was arrested during the event on suspicion of battery of a police officer. Though these charges were later dropped, he celebrated the violence of the day — which became known by white supremacists as the “The Battle of Berkeley” — remarking that the event signaled an “awakening in the White American consciousness.” In August 2017, RAM members also traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia to take part in the deadly “Unite the Right” rally. Three RAM members would later be charged and sentenced for provoking and engaging in fights as part of their conspiracy to riot.

On October 24, 2018, Rundo was taken into custody after he and three fellow RAM members were charged with planning and intentionally engaging in violent attacks and assaults against counter-protesters at various political events in Huntington Beach, San Bernardino, Berkeley, and more. In 2019, the case was temporarily dismissed because the judge ruled parts of the 1968 Federal Riot Act unconstitutional. An appellate court subsequently overturned that ruling.

The de facto Leader of a Decentralized International White Supremacist Network

Rundo fled to Europe soon after his criminal case was temporarily dismissed. While living outside the United States, he reportedly lived a transient lifestyle in eastern Europe. During this period, Rundo sought to maintain relevance within the U.S. white supremacist scene, as well as secure means to finance further extremist activities.

Starting in late 2020, Rundo began to shift his focus towards creating a decentralized international white brotherhood, called “Active Clubs.” Rundo explained this shift in a December 2020 essay, calling it “White Nationalism 3.0.” Rundo imagined a movement of small white supremacist cells that would focus on local-level engagement, making it harder for researchers and law enforcement to identify and shut down their operations.

White Nationalism 3.0 was a departure from many of the traditional white supremacist groups of the past. The model also distanced Rundo from the movement, making it difficult to tie him to any one crew’s illicit activity but allowing him to serve as a de facto leader from afar. The Active Club network reflects a larger trend driving the current white supremacist landscape: replacing hierarchical organizations with decentralized and localized cells. Local regional crews will carry out the group’s core goals while simultaneously pursuing their own local objectives. This “do-it-yourself” white supremacist activity has grown in prominence in recent years, largely in response to federal law enforcement actions targeting hierarchical white supremacist movements like Atomwaffen Division and The Base.

Active Clubs are largely the ideological successor of RAM. They promote a white supremacist worldview that is inspired by the prominent “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory, advocate for raising “white racial consciousness,” and train so-called white “warriors” for an ongoing war against a system that they claim is deliberately plotting against their race. These Active Clubs are deeply rooted in physical fitness and influenced by Rundo’s time in the European MMA-ultranationalist scene. According to Rundo, the Active Club network was meant to “fill the gap” among American white supremacist groups. This decentralized network of European-styled MMA athletic clubs represented a clear organizational shift. RAM was limited to Southern California, but the decentralized Active Club network has now established new nodes across the United States and even abroad. 

In addition to launching the Active Club model, Rundo wanted to build a white supremacist brand empire that would allow him to raise money for his activities abroad, while also bringing the white supremacist community together under stylized optics. Rundo launched Media2Rise in the summer of 2020, a media production arm that serves as a white supremacist news platform. Media2Rise crafts stylized documentaries covering white nationalist events and leadership, such as those by the white supremacist Patriot Front or the National Justice Party. In 2021, Rundo founded Will2Rise, a far-right merchandise company selling everything from clothing, stickers, and even soap sporting white supremacist slogans. The clothing line has since become a staple among white supremacists, regularly being worn by members of groups like Patriot Front, the National Justice Party, and, of course, Active Clubs.

Looking Ahead

Acutely aware of the threat of criminal trial, Rundo set out to create a community resilient enough to withstand any potential arrests of key leadership, including himself. As of August 2023, ADL data shows that Active Clubs claim to maintain an active presence in at least 33 states, including Arizona, California, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. In addition, Active Clubs continue to emerge abroad, in countries like Lithuania, France, Estonia, the Netherlands, and Croatia. While the true extent of Active Club membership is opaque, it is unlikely that any resulting prison time for Rundo, or further arrests of key leadership, will significantly stymie this growing decentralized network.

Rundo’s arrest and extradition have become a rallying cry within the international white supremacist landscape, who view the legal process against him as an injustice. “Free Rundo” stencils, stickers, banners, and graffiti have been distributed across the United States and Europe, framing Rundo as a political prisoner facing “federal hoax charges.” Immediately following Rundo’s arrest, individuals associated with Will2Rise and Media2Rise released a public statement: “We can assure you that although one of our movement’s most dedicated activists has been detained, our struggle still continues.” Will2Rise is now crowdfunding for Rundo’s legal fees and brand empire. “Free Rundo” demonstrations have been held in Russia, Sweden, Canada, and more, illustrating the degree to which his influence has expanded.

Regardless of the outcome of Rundo’s trial, new Active Clubs continue to form in both the United States and abroad, while the Will2Rise and Media2Rise franchises remain active nodes for the white supremacist ecosystem. The Active Club network in the United States continues to be one of the most active elements of the white supremacist landscape, regularly organizing fight nights, distributing propaganda, and hosting demonstrations. Perhaps most concerningly, Active Clubs are increasingly targeting LGBTQ+ events in their offline activities. Recent incidents in Montana, Wyoming, Washington, and Oregon have seen local Active Club members protesting drag queen story hours and Pride festivals. As anti-LGBTQ+ narratives and conspiracies continue to serve as potent drivers for extremist mobilization and violence across the United States, the addition of Active Club members seeking to return to the violent origins of RAM only further increases the risk of extremist-related violence within the United States.